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Theses and Dissertations

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Secondary Biology Instruction in The GeneralSenior Secondary Schools of Aceh ProvinceIndonesia: An analysis of Teachers’ Opinions andTeaching Practices Related to The IndonesiaBiology Curriculum 2013Wiwit ArtikaUniversity of Arkansas, Fayetteville

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Secondary Biology Instruction in The General Senior Secondary Schools of Aceh Province

Indonesia: An analysis of Teachers’ Opinions and Teaching Practices Related to The Indonesia

Biology Curriculum 2013

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction

by

Wiwit Artika

Bogor Agricultural University

Bachelor of Science in Biology, 2005

University of Malaya

Master of Education in Mathematics and Science Education, 2008

August 2018

University of Arkansas

This dissertation is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council.

William McComas, Ph.D.

Dissertation Director

Stephen Burgin, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Cathy Wissehr, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Abstract

My study was to discover the perceptions of general secondary senior high school

biology teachers about the application of curriculum 2013. Their further opinions of biology

topics and the instructional practices in the class have supported the findings of this study. In

addressing this study, general senior secondary school (GSSS) biology teachers (n=286) from 22

districts in Aceh province randomly participated in my study. Thus, six (n=6) teachers were

selected as convenience sampling to have a one-on-one phone interview. The data collected were

analyzed descriptively (frequency and percentage) and thematically to answer the research

questions.

The documents comparison between the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards Life

Science (NGSS-LS) and 2013 Indonesian biology curriculum (IBC 2013) for senior secondary

school showed similarity in the elements of comparison. Yet, the performance expectation in

NGSS-LS is connected to three dimensions of framework and other ideas within disciplines.

Most GSSS biology teachers in Aceh province believed that the 2013 curriculum had

offered the better system to improve the teaching and learning quality. The GSSS biology

teachers agreed that almost all biology topics listed were significant and should be taught to

senior high school students. However, some of them possessed ideas about an ideal curriculum

that would include local contents, be designed by the biology experts whom fully understand of

the biology contents and must be supported with adequate learning facilities or infrastructure.

Teachers had taught those biology topics listed in the 2013 curriculum, with some challenges

they faced. They had also used some teaching models and prefer to use various teaching models

that focus on student-centered.

Although the new required assessment system is complex and detailed, most teachers had

tried to apply various techniques of the evaluation in the classroom such as assigning paper tests

and homework (to measure students’ knowledge), observation and self-assessment (to measure

students’ attitude) and performance assessment (to measure students’ skill). In terms of

characters education assimilation, several characters such as religious, honest, tolerance,

discipline, hard-working, creative, curiosity, communicative/being friendly, social and

environmental awareness, and responsible have been applied at a different stage of instructional

and in school’s co-curricular activities.

Acknowledgments

The toughest part of my education journey was the time to finish this project, which

could not be completed without the greatest support of the great people – friends, colleagues, and

family -- who surround me. First, I would like to give my deepest gratitude to my advisor and

dissertation committee chair, Dr. William F. McComas, for his encouragement and “never give

up on me” attitude. I was an honor to be his student and to have had the experiences he and his

colleagues provided during my study and time at the University of Arkansas. Thank you too to

Dr. Stephen Burgin and Dr. Cathy Wissehr, who have provided me with knowledge, skills, and

feedback to help me become a better science teacher and scholar. I offer my sincere appreciation

to Aceh Government as the main sponsor of my doctoral study. Thanks to those who worked so

hard arranging my scholarship. To Laila Musfira and Suci Handayani, thank you for always

taking care of me. I also appreciate the support of the University of Syiah Kuala, LPMP and

Dinas Pendidikan Aceh, Ratna Yulia, M.Ed, Zulbahri, M.Ed and Indonesian-Acehnese Teachers

for their participation and support in my study. I am very lucky for having many great friends

during my experiences in the United States, including Mr & Mrs. Schraeder, Mba Keukeu, Mas

Teguh, Mba Rifi, Mba Oepik, Mba Tri, Mba Nana, Mas Wawan, Mba Nadia, Miranti, Zaura,

Reza, Pat Kuhn, Khlood and many others. To my colleagues, Zulfikar, Salwa, Fanny, Dewi, Kak

Mimie and Andi Ulfa, who helped me, thank you.

Dedication

This doctoral dissertation is dedicated to my parents M. Ali Markatam and Rustibah

Bulan, my teachers, my lovely husband Suhartono, precious daughter Sofia Aleeya Suhartono,

my sisters Dwi and Rama, my brothers Try and Yudi, as well as my friends.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1

Statement of the Problem ..................................................................................................... 1

Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................. 4

Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................... 5

Research Questions .............................................................................................................. 6

Brief Overview of Research Method .................................................................................... 7

Assumptions of the study ..................................................................................................... 8

Limits on Generalizability .................................................................................................... 8

Delimitations ........................................................................................................................ 9

CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ................................................................. 10

The Concepts of Curriculum ................................................................................................. 10

The Reasons of Curriculum Comparison ............................................................................. 12

Indonesia Education System: Curriculum Reformation Timeline ....................................... 13

Factors Affecting Curriculum Implementation .................................................................... 20

Curriculum Implementation: Science (Biology) Teachers Beliefs in Curriculum

Content ................................................................................................................................. 21

Curriculum Implementation: Instructional Strategy, Assessment and Character

Education as a Uniquely Indonesian Curricular Element ...................................................... 24

The Perspective of Religious Aspects in Science Education ............................................... 30

The U.S. Next Generation Science Standards: Its Development and Studies ...................... 32

Summary of Literature Review ............................................................................................ 35

Gaps in Literatures ............................................................................................................... 36

Conclusion and Research Motivations ................................................................................. 37

CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH METHODS ................................................................................. 38

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 38

Nature of Study ..................................................................................................................... 39

Ethical Considerations .......................................................................................................... 40

Data Collection Procedure .................................................................................................... 40

Research Settings and Subjects ............................................................................................ 42

Description of the Survey Instrument ................................................................................... 45

Validity and Reliability of the Instrument ............................................................................ 47

Specific Methodology to Address Research Questions ........................................................ 48

Data Entry, Reduction, and Analysis ................................................................................... 51

CHAPTER 4. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS ............................................................................. 53

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 53

Results .................................................................................................................................. 53

Research Question 1: How does the Indonesian biology Curriculum 2013

content compare to the related aspects of the U.S. Next Generation Science

Standards (NGSS)? ......................................................................................................... 53

Research Question 2: What Opinions do Indonesian teachers in Aceh

Province hold with respect to the required biology content? ......................................... 65

Research Questions 3: What aspects and with what frequency do Indonesian-

Acehnese teachers teach the various aspects of the Biology Curriculum 2013? ........... 70

Research Questions 4: What instructional methods are used by these

Indonesian-Acehnese biology teachers to support students in understanding

biology? .......................................................................................................................... 74

Research Questions 5: What general perceptions are reported by these

Indonesian Acehnese teachers regarding the required biology assessment in

the Indonesian curriculum 2013 document? ................................................................... 79

Research Question 6: How do Indonesian-Acehnese biology teachers integrate

the required aspects of character education into biology instruction? ........................... 86

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION, DISCUSSION, AND IMPLICATIONS .............................. 90

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 90

Overview of the Study .......................................................................................................... 91

Discussion of Findings ......................................................................................................... 92

Research Question 1: How does the Indonesian biology curriculum 2013 content

compare with related aspects of the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards

(NGSS)? ....................................................................................................................... 92

Comparison of the Basic Structure ......................................................................... 93

Comparison of the Content – Corresponding to the core ideas (teaching

materials) ................................................................................................................ 97

Comparison of the Content – Corresponding to the scientific inquiry ................ 100

Comparison of Other Components ...................................................................... 101

Conclusion Thought for the Comparison ............................................................. 103

Practical Recommendation .................................................................................. 104

Area for Further Study ......................................................................................... 105

Research Question 2: How do Indonesian teachers in Aceh Province value

aspects of the required biology content? ...................................................................... 105



Research Questions 3: What aspects and with what frequency do Indonesian-

Acehnese teachers teach the various aspects of the biology curriculum 2013? ........... 109



Research Questions 4: What instructional methods are used by these Indonesian-

Acehnese biology teachers to support students in understanding biology? ................. 111



Research Question 5: What general perceptions are reported by these Indonesian-

Acehnese teachers regarding the required biology assessment in the Indonesian

curriculum 2013 document? ......................................................................................... 116



Research Question 6: How do Indonesian-Acehnese biology teachers integrate

the required character education aspects into biology instruction? .............................. 120



Conclusion for Further Study Suggestions ................................................................... 123

Final Thoughts ............................................................................................................. 124

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 126

List of Tables

Table 2.1: Models of teaching ..................................................................................................... 25

Table 2.2: Character educations for high school biology subject ................................................ 29

Table 3.1: Demography of subjects of GSSS Biology teachers .................................................. 44

Table 3.2: Groups of biology topics listed from SSBCI 2013 for the survey instrument ............ 47

Table 3.3: Cronbach’s alpha values for the construct measured of biology topic items ............. 48

Table 4.1: The comparison summary between the NGSS (life science) and Indonesia

curriculum 2013 ........................................................................................................................... 54

Table 4.2: The teaching content structure in block of grade of high school biology

curriculum .................................................................................................................................... 55

Table 4.3: The details of activities in the biology learning process in the high school

biology document.......................................................................................................................... 55

Table 4.4: Specific disciplinary core ideas of life science ............................................................ 56

Table 4.5: Scientific approach steps in the IBC 2013 .................................................................. 57

Table 4.6: A summary of scientific inquiry found in the NGSS Life Science Standards ............. 58

Table 4.7: The correlation of NGSS core ideas and IBC 2013 content corresponding to

life process and living things ........................................................................................................ 61

Table 4.8. Frequency (percentage) of GSSS teachers' perceptions towards biology the

importance of biology topics taught in the curriculum ................................................................. 66

Table 4.9: Frequency (percentage) of GSSS teachers' perceptions towards biology

topics taught in the curriculum ..................................................................................................... 71

Table 4.10: Frequency (percentage) of the instructional methods reportedly used by

GSSS teachers' perceptions in teaching the topics ........................................................................ 75

Table 4.11: The GSSS teachers’ explanation and other teaching strategies (models of

science teaching) used to teach the biology curriculum topics ..................................................... 76

Table 4.12: Frequency (percentage) of assessment items used by the GSSS teachers'

perceptions targeting particular topics to measure the student’s attitudes .................................... 80

Table 4.13: Frequency (percentage) of the assessment used by the GSSS teachers'

perceptions in teaching the topics to measure the student’s knowledge ....................................... 81

Table 4.14: Frequency (percentage) of the assessment used by the GSSS teachers'

perceptions in teaching the topics to measure the student’s skills ................................................ 80

Table 4.15: The GSSS teachers’ opinion of the assessment required in the biology

Curriculum 2013 ........................................................................................................................... 84

Table 4.16: The GSSS teachers' perceptions of character education integration in

different steps of instructional ...................................................................................................... 87

Table 5.1: Components of teachers’ competencies ................................................................... 113

List of Figures

Figure 2.1: Translation (to English) of basic framework of Indonesian curriculum

structure provided by the Ministry of Education and Culture ..................................................... 16

Figure 2.2: The basic framework of the Indonesian Competency-based Curriculum 2004 ......... 17

Figure 3.1: Map of cities and districts in the Aceh Province of Indonesia .................................. 41

Figure 3.2. Overview of diagram of research sources and procedure to address research

questions ....................................................................................................................................... 49

Figure 5.1: The structure of syllabus for IBC 2013 (translated) of the cell structure and

function. ........................................................................................................................................ 95

Figure 5.2: The example of NGSS-LS system architecture for HS-LS1A: Structure and

Function ........................................................................................................................................ 96

List of Appendices

Appendix A1: Survey of Biology Content and Action of Biology Curriculum ...................................... 136

Appendix A2 Angket Kurikulum 2013 Sekolah Menengah Atas dan Proses Belajar Mengajar

biologi ................................................................................................................................................... 145

Appendix B: Official Letters from Local Education Agency of Aceh .................................................. 151

Appendix C Approval IRB Protocol ....................................................................................................... 152

Appendix D1: Informed Consent Survey ................................................................................................ 153

Appendix D2: Informed Consent Interview ........................................................................................... 154

Appendix E1 English Transcripts of Interview ...................................................................................... 155

Appendix E2 Indonesian Transcripts of Interview ................................................................................ 179

1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Statement of Problem

The development of a national curriculum requires time, a great expense and a large

investment in human resources. Indonesia has changed its national curriculum ten times since its

independence (1945) with hopes of improving its education quality. These changes include

Curriculum 1947 (Lesson Plan 1947), Rencana Pelajaran Terurai 1952 (Ravel Lesson Plan),

Educational Plan 1964, Curriculum 1968, Curriculum 1975, Curriculum 1984, Curriculum 1994,

Competency-based Curriculum 2004, Education Unit Level curriculum (KTSP) 2006, and

Curriculum 2013.

The Indonesian government prioritizes spending at least twenty percent of its education

budget at meeting requirements associated with the implementation of national education

processes, especially in improving the quality of the education system (including curriculum and

pedagogy reformation), education access and teachers’ qualification enhancement (Widasara,

2013; The World Bank, 2014; Tobias et al., 2014). An observable effort in improving teachers’

quality and professionalism can be found in the teacher certification program (improvement of

teacher quality and welfare), continuous development of teacher professionalism (teacher

education) through teacher performance group (called “KKG” in Indonesia) for elementary

school teachers and teacher organization (MGMP) for secondary school teachers, and other

professionalism trainings (management training, laboratory skill training, etc). Meanwhile, in a

campaign to improve the quality of curriculum and pedagogy, the government has shifted from

implementing a content-based curriculum to a competency-based curriculum, teacher-centered

2

learning to student-centered learning, and the centralization of content determination (Tobias et

al., 2014).

My interests are focused on my home province Aceh, a semi-autonomous region on the

northwest tip of Sumatra Island with an area of 22,377 square miles (57956.164 square

kilometer) and a total population of 4.7 million people. The province is served by 13,143 general

senior secondary school teachers (MoEC, 2016) who come from different ethnic groups

(Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2016) including the Acehnese (distributed throughout Aceh),

Gayo (found in the central and eastern region), Alas (from SE Aceh), Tamiang (in Aceh

Tamiang), Aneuk Jamee (concentrated in southern and southwestern Aceh), Simeulue (on

Simeulue Island), and those of Chinese descent (Ministry of Home Affair’s act No 39 years of

2015). Although Aceh is an autonomous province, there are no differences in the curriculum

documents among Indonesian provinces because all of them use a single national curriculum

document. The Aceh Educational Agency is mandated to implement the curriculum provided by

the national government.

The implementation of the latest curriculum, based on the 2013 Ministry of Education

and Culture (MoEC) Circular Letter (156928/MPK.A/KR/2013) clearly defines teachers as the

most important element within the education bureaucracy whose professionalism is continuously

developed and monitored (Anbarini, 2014; Sukemi, 2013). With this measured focus on teachers

and teaching, it would be useful and be revealing to know what the teachers believe in regard to

the content and teaching practices in which they are tasked to engage. In addition, by analyzing

their perceptions of an ideal biology curriculum model, we would have useful information of

points to consider when evaluating the new curriculum. Thus, it would be interesting to gain a

deeper awareness of Acehnese teachers’ perceptions of biology content and mandated teaching

3

practices with respect to the new 2013 curriculum. Rahmadhani et al. (2016) found that a

teacher’s knowledge of pedagogical content is correlated to the sustainability of content

representation in the implementation of lesson plan and teaching strategies in Indonesian biology

curriculum 2013 (IBC 2013). It would also be useful to gain a deeper appreciation of Acehnese

teachers’ perceptions of the biology content and mandated teaching practices (especially in the

use of the scientific approach and inquiry learning) concerning the IBC 2013.

As a point of comparison for the Aceh-focused study reported here, it would be useful to

consider the recommendations of the new Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) from the

U.S. National Research Council (NRC). I offer this view not because NGSS should be seen as a

“best case” curriculum document per se, but because of the shared expertise directed toward its

development and its recent emergence on the educational scene. One of the goals of the NGSS is

to provide students with “an internationally-benchmarked science education, emphasizing

content and practice across disciplines and grades” (NGSS, 2015). In NGSS, there are five life

science topics in high school to refer to develope the understanding of key ideas of life science

and the performance expectations based on the framework for K-12 science education. No study

at this point has compared the biology topics advocated by the NGSS (or the biology science

curriculum framework by the US state) and those featured in the Indonesian curriculum 2013.

Therefore, it will be revealing to analyze their similarities and differences in curriculum

structure, curriculum elements, breadth and perceived difficulty, along with other aspects that can

also determine the way both countries develop and improve their science education curriculum.

In addition, this comparison should provide useful insights to educators, teachers, and students in

Aceh province –as a developing region – with respect to science education development in the

United States.

4

Any curriculum is designed to improve the quality of education and provide the

opportunities for students to compete internationally; therefore, the evaluation of curriculum

implementation through the practitioners’ perspectives, especially teachers’ beliefs and practices

of the biology content, should be investigated. Sowell (2000) stated that the purpose of

curriculum examination and evaluation is to gather information about to what extent a

curriculum has been implemented and resources are used, so as to provide the clarification of the

curriculum implementation plans, and to assess the degree to which teachers perform their role.

While there are many investigations targeting mathematics teachers’ beliefs such as those

reviewed by Handal (2003), there are few studies (Del Pozo et al., 2011; Roehrig et al., 2007;

Verjovsky & Waldegg, 2005; Cronin-Jones, 1991) investigating teachers’ beliefs in teaching

science and fewer still with respect to biology content and teaching practices.

Purpose of the Study

This study reported the results of an evaluation of the senior secondary school (SSS)

biology curriculum through an investigation of teachers’ perceptions of the biology topics, which

included three essential aspects: content, instructional strategy, and assessment. Therefore, the

following descriptions are provided to support the scope of this study:

a. Value expressed by teachers regarding the biology content: the degree of importance of

biology content arranged in the 2013 curriculum.

b. Teachers’ perspectives: teachers’ feelings of the contents and practices, what they find

challenging, what support is provided to help them in the implementation process, and what

aspects of curriculum implementation work well for the students.

As defined in the Act of the Republic of Indonesia Number 20, Year 2003 National

Education System, this current Indonesian curriculum defines the plans and regulations about the

5

aims, content and material of lessons and the method employed as the guidelines for the

implementation of learning activities to achieve given education objectives (Article 1, Verse 19).

At this point, there is a relationship between a curriculum and an instruction that is defined as

“what is taught” and “how it is taught” (Sowell, 2000, p.4). In Johnson’s model (Johnson, 1967),

the curriculum plan clearly guides the instruction with individual teachers making the final

selection of learning activities and instrumental content. Additionally, analyzing teachers’ views

and actions regarding biology content is found in the four major categories of belief structures

offered by Cronin-Jones (1991). Teachers’ thoughts/perceptions and attitudes toward curriculum

content influence the implementation process of a curriculum (Cronin-Jones, 1991). Thus, those

underlying statements represent the conceptual framework that teachers’ belief of the content

determines their final selection of teaching technique to obtain the learning goals

mandated/planned in the curriculum.

In brief, the purpose of this study was to discover Indonesian, especially Acehnese

teachers’ general perceptions regarding biology topics and instructional strategies mandated in

the IBC 2013 for senior secondary school.

Significance of the Study

Teachers are able to have their final decision about what happens in the classroom using

the curriculum as their guideline. Mansour (2009) has found that teaching practice is indirectly

yet strongly influenced by what teachers believe. The result of this study can provide information

about what teachers value towards the biology contents and how their perceptions influence the

instructional process in the classroom they are asked to engage in to support the curriculum

evaluation. Also, the result of this study would assist the curriculum implementation unit of Aceh

Province (also called the National Education Bureau and the Education Quality Insurance Board)

6

in monitoring the 2013 curriculum implementation with a particular focus on the Biology

curriculum.

Furthermore, a comparison between the Indonesia 2013 Curriculum and the NGSS life

science framework will provide information to Acehnese teachers and students about the

expectations regarding biology learning advocated elsewhere. In addition, many graduates from

Indonesian secondary schools might like to pursue further learning at the university level, and

some reference to NGSS could prove useful in this regard particularly for the U.S. In addition,

the core ideas of life science NGSS has been developed consistently with the U.S and

international assessment framework, such as the National of Education Progress (NAEP), the

Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), and the Trends in International

Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) (NRC, 2012). Teachers with similar backgrounds in

Indonesia can also use the information from this study to reflect on and improve their own

practices.

Research Questions

This study addressed the following research questions:

1. How does the Indonesian biology curriculum 2013 content compare with related aspects

of the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)?

2. How do Indonesian teachers in Aceh Province value aspects of the required biology

content?

3. What aspects and with what frequency do Indonesian-Acehnese teachers teach the various

aspects of the biology curriculum 2013?

4. What instructional methods are used by these Indonesian-Acehnese biology teachers to

support students in understanding biology?

7

5. What general perceptions are reported by these Indonesian-Acehnese teachers regarding

the required biology assessment in the Indonesian curriculum 2013 documents?

6. How do Indonesian-Acehnese biology teachers integrate the required aspects of character

education into biology instruction?

Brief Overview of Research Method

This study is focused on the Curriculum 2013, the most recent curriculum implemented

in Indonesia. This curriculum has two dimensions: (1) content/teaching materials and objectives’

plans and regulations, and (2) methods of learning activities. A review of the related literature

has been done to generate information about the comparison between the IBC 2013 content and

the related aspects of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the U.S. An instrument

(see Appendix A) with both closed and open-ended questions was used as the primary data

collection tool in this study. The instrument was designed to gather specific information on

teachers’ perspectives and teaching practices of the biology curriculum content. The perceptions

of GSSS biology teachers gathered from responses towards thirty-four biology topics

summarized from IBC 2013 for senior secondary school.

The instrument consisted of three parts: (a) background information of respondent; (b)

perceptions/view of respondents about biology topics (quantitative); and (c) open-ended

questions, which purposely gather information about teachers’ general view of character

integration technique in teaching and the standards of biology assessment. In addition, interview

questions were provided for this study to support the findings found in the instrument.

The population relevant to this study consisted of 1,154 GSSS biology teachers from 436

schools (public and private) in 23 districts. From this group, I selected a representative sample

size (n=288) based on a confidence level of 95 percent and the margin of error of 5 percent.

8

Those teachers have been selected from the latest database of biology teachers in Aceh province

provided by the Education Quality Insurance Board of Aceh province (also referred to as LPMP),

which was specifically provided by my colleagues working as the information division staff and

biology instructor.

To examine the content validity of the instrument used, a peer review was conducted

through instrument checking by a professor from Curriculum and Instruction Department of the

University of Arkansas, three professors from Syiah Kuala University (USK)—two college

professors from Biology Education Department and one from Indonesia Study Department, and

one biology instructor working at the Education Quality Insurance Board. Thus, a pilot study was

conducted to assess the reliability of the questionnaire in order to determine the Cronbach alpha

coefficients which showed the values above 0.70.

Assumptions of the Study

For this study, I assumed that the survey questionnaire has clear instruction and use easy

and correct sentences to be understood. An underlying assumption is that all Indonesian-

Acehnese biology teachers have been assigned same topics of biology in the IBC 2103. In

addition, I trusted that the biology teachers would give honest respond to all questions.

Limits on Generalizability

The results of this study might not apply to opinions and implementation of the biology

curriculum beyond Aceh because the preparation and nature of biology teachers in Aceh may be

different from biology teachers from the other provinces in Indonesia, yet no other teachers were

involved as subjects in this study. Aceh province is one of the autonomous provinces of

Indonesia, so the National Education Bureau of Aceh has school policies which may be different

9

from other schools in Indonesia. Yet, the findings of this study should generalize well with

respect to biology teachers’ perception of the biology content and action within Aceh province.

Delimitations

Although using the same science curriculum, there are two groups of secondary schools

in Indonesia, namely general secondary school (GSS) and Islamic-based secondary school (ISS).

Since those schools are organized in two different ministries (Ministry of Education and Culture

for GSS and Ministry of Religious Affairs for ISS), this study survey focused only on biology

teachers from general senior secondary school (GSSS) as per the limitation to the complex

access on wide number of those schools (nGSSS= 436, nISSS= 209) and their geographical area

and funding. This study was not purposively to evaluate teachers’ performance or to generate a

judgement related to the implementation of biology curriculum 2013. Rather, the study was

intended to explore Indonesia-Acehnese biology teachers thinking about the changes in the new

curriculum design. Due to no direct investigation to the real classroom investigation, the honest

and critical responses from the subjects to not provide good opinions (because of their social

manner bias) were the key answers of this study.

10

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The Concepts of Curriculum

Numerous definitions of curriculum have been well-defined and explained for curriculum

studies. These include the substances should be taught (Null, 2017), the epitome of all

knowledge, skills, and attitudes as a product of practitioners (educators and politicians)

(Modebelu, 2017) which have been developed as consequences of the improvement in the

education system. The development of curriculum concepts is also initiated by the extensive

changing of a curriculum to properly fit into the changes of society and the technology

movement (Kelly, 2009).

In his Key Concepts for Understanding Curriculum, Marsh (2009) states that there has

been a constant struggle among experts and educators throughout a course of history in order to

define what a curriculum is. Despite the tendency of fitting curriculum with the trend of a period

which leads to a divergent and a variety of views, it is often the case that the definition is

incomplete (meaning that it may successfully cover certain issues on the one hand but fails to

address other issues which may as well be significant). He provides a brief analysis of some

sample definitions of curriculum by posing the points they might include:

“Curriculum is the ‘permanent’ subjects that embody essential knowledge;

Curriculum is those subjects that are most useful for contemporary living;

Curriculum is all planned learnings for which the school is responsible; Curriculum

is the totality of learning experiences so that students can attain general skills and

knowledge at a variety of learning sites; Curriculum is what the students construct

from working with the computer and its various networks, such as the Internet;

Curriculum is the questioning of authority and the searching for complex views of

human situations” (p.4).

Kelly (2009) mapped the curriculum concept into five sorts of explanation, including: (1)

the educational curriculum—the definition of curriculum should properly fit the ‘educational’

11

term, which is defined as “of what teaching and instruction is to be offered and sometimes also

what its purposes, its objectives, are” (p. 2); (2) the total curriculum—it determines curriculum

as the entire program of an educational institution, which triggers the school to not only concern

with a collection of subjects or individual curriculum aspects, but as a total scheme that may

include the goals, the process and the other aspects; (3) the ‘hidden’ curriculum—it constitutes

an unwritten or unexposed agenda that is delivered collaboratively with something that has been

consciously planned and organized. In this case, “the curriculum is ‘hidden’ only to or from the

pupils, and the values to be learnt clearly form a part of what is planned for pupils” (p. 5); (4) the

planned curriculum and the received curriculum—the planned curriculum is defined as what is

written in the syllabus or lesson plan; while the received curriculum is the real thing that is

experienced by students. Although the received curriculum is concerned more significantly to

pupils, curriculum implementation will be a success if it fills the gap between its theory and

practices; (5) the formal and informal curriculum—the formal curriculum comprises the formal

activities that have been organized in a certain timetable, while the informal one includes the

other activities excluded from the timetable.

According to Bordage and Harris (2011), curriculum is identified as a complex entity and

a process that consists of five keys elements: the acquisition of competencies—defined as

attitudes, knowledge, and techniques to learning practice, skills of communication and

enhancement; learners; learning conditions—which traditionally include content selections and

organization, teaching strategies and methods, while in additional conditions may include

teaching materials and equipment, and others; assessment—formative and summative; and the

socio-politico-cultural contexts—such as values and practices related to the society condition. In

addition, the aspects of curriculum development and implementation are also viewed in

12

epistemological perspectives, which consist of curriculum content—including all forms of

knowledge acquisitions, curriculum implementation process—internalization and experiences,

and curriculum outcomes—ways of knowing (Mugisha & Mugimu, 2012).

The Reasons of Curriculum Comparison

Why do we need comparison studies of curriculum? This thought came up as logic answers

in responding to the continuous development and changes to create a better living, especially

related to the process of educating the human beings. Curriculum comparison is also conducted

as an interest to the education system and approaches adopted in various countries in developing

their education system, primarily the pupils’ achievement in various international performances

competitions (Ruddock & Sainsbury, 2008). Hall (2014) added that to enable the understanding

of the real process of teaching, the scope of content and assessment, and the connection of theory

and practice applied, curriculum analysis is conducted as powerful and useful tools in providing

the information.

The comparison analysis has been conducted in various ways, such as different curricula

have been used in the internal country itself, or between two or more curricula from various

countries. Several studies of curriculum analysis have been done to differentiate underlying

focus, such as rationale and goals of the curriculum framework of 21st century competence

(Tanriverdi & Apak, 2010; Voogt & Roblin, 2012), strategies for implementations and

assessment (Tanriverdi & Apak, 2010; Voogt & Roblin, 2012; Hall, 2014), curriculum materials

and content (Rossi et al., 2009; Tanriverdi & Apak, 2010; Hall, 2014), and learning conditions

such as methods and technique (Tanriverdi & Apak, 2010). Therefore, there have been several

methods used to analyze the curriculum including critical discourse analysis in analyzing an

official syllabus in one of Australia states (Rossi, et al., 2009), the use of benchmarking,

13

evidencing, knowing and applying (BEKA) in analyzing curriculum objectives, content and

assessment (Hall, 2014), and documents analysis (Ruddock & Sainsbury, 2008; Tanriverdi &

Apak, 2010).

Therefore, my perspective aligns with the purposes of curriculum comparison that is stated

by Ruddock & Sainsbury. There was no intention to label one intended document is “better” than

the others.

Indonesia Education System: Curriculum Reformation Timeline

In Indonesia, the education system is divided into basic formal schooling (years 1-6) and

secondary (junior secondary school or years 7-9 and senior secondary school or years 10-12),

which are organized and supervised by two different ministries. The Ministry of Education and

Culture or MoEC (Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Kemendikbud) organizes general

basic and secondary schools, while Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kementerian Agama,

Kemenag) arranges the education of Islamic-based basic and secondary schools. Yet, both

ministries apply the same curriculum for all subjects (which are arranged by the MoEC), except

that the Islamic-based subjects are taught only in Islamic-based schools. For a general view of

the education curriculum system in Indonesia, please review Figure 2.1. Thus, to support the

curriculum implementation, the Indonesian government has provided teachers with a complete

set of curricula including a guideline module, modifiable syllabus (including the graduation

standards, competency standards, topics, teaching guidelines, types of assessment, time

allocations, and media/resources guidelines), lesson plans (their format and examples), and

teacher’s subject books. Therefore, in this study, I focus on gathering information regarding the

science (biology) curriculum for general senior secondary school.

14

The secondary science curriculum framework in high school is a continuation of the

competences started in elementary and middle schools, in which science is taught as a one-unit

subject. In high school, however, science is taught in three different subjects; physics, chemistry,

and biology. In middle schools, science is about learning a systematic nature, emphasizing not

only a mastery of knowledge in the form of a collection of facts, concepts, or principles but also

a process of discovery. Science learning process aims at providing direct experience to develop

competence to explore and understand the universe scientifically. Science instruction promotes

inquiry to help learners gain in-depth understanding of the surrounding nature. The science

learning approach used in high schools is similar to that is used in lower secondary school:

inquiry.

According to the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture of Republic of Indonesia

[MoEC] (n.d), the changes in Indonesian curriculum which have taken places several times since

the nation’s independence as a Republic in 1945 may be categorized into three major domains

consisting of Kurikulum Rencana Pelajaran or Subject Plan Curriculum (1947-1968), Kurikulum

Berbasis Tujuan or Purpose-oriented Curriculum (1975-1984), and Kurikulum Berbasis

Kompetensi (Competency-based Curriculum) dan Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan or

School-based Curriculum (2004 and 2006).

During the subject plan curriculum time (1947-1968), the development of education

system in Indonesia was still influenced by the colonial era statutes of the Dutch and Japanese

occupation while emphasizing “Pancasila” (state ideology) and “Undang-undang Dasar 1945”

(constitutional law). The science curriculum reformation at this era occurred because of several

reasons including the low number of students who went to school, the quality of education, the

quality of graduation, and the correlation between graduate skills and the real need in the work

15

field (Mariana & Praginda, 2009). The curriculum used in this period consisted of (a) “Rencana

pelajaran” (Lesson Plans) 1947 as the first curriculum in Indonesia which emphasized education

values and attitudes to build the awareness of nationality, subject contents related to basic daily

life, as well as physical education and arts; (b) “Rencana pelajaran terurai” 1952 as the

improvement on the previous curriculum, which highlighted the link between lesson plan and the

subject content based on daily life experiences. This curriculum promoted five classifications of

study, which include morality, intelligence, emotion/arts, general skills, and physical education;

(c) “Rencana Pendidikan” (Education Plans) 1964, which emphasized active, creative and

productive learning on facts and practical functions by focusing on the development of morality

(society education, religion/characters), intelligence (local language, Bahasa Indonesia language,

counting, and nature), emotional and artistic (arts) education, skills education, as well as physical

and health education; and (d) “Kurikulum” (Curriculum) 1968 as the revision of the education

plans of 1964, in which the science curriculum development involved physics, biology, and

chemistry.

The second curriculum reform was the “Kurikulum Berbasis Tujuan” (Purpose-Oriented

Curriculum) (1975-1984), or commonly referred to as the 1974 Curriculum Reformation. The

focus of this curriculum period was the change of education system from one based on

subject/lesson plans to a one based on purposes/goals. The purpose-based curriculum

emphasized only on essential contents or subject materials from the disciplines. Education

functioned to manage and transmit the old knowledge, technology, and culture values to the next

generations. In this curriculum era, three kinds of curriculum were respectively in use, namely

the 1975 curriculum, the 1984 curriculum and the 1994 curriculum. The science curriculum

reformations at this period era were marked by several key points including the majoring of

16

science or social studies based on students’ interests in high schools, the decision to place

biology, physics, chemistry and mathematics as the core subjects (among 16 other core subjects)

to be taught in high schools, and the application of inductive inquiry and skill process approach

in scientific teaching which emphasized critical thinking skill through discussion and questioning

(Mariana & Praginda, 2009). In addition, the government also built a basic science team to

develop science curriculum at school.

Figure 2.1: Translation (to English) of basic framework of Indonesian curriculum structure

provided by the Ministry of Education and Culture (MoEC, 2012b)

The third curriculum reform in Indonesia was “Kurikulum Berbasis Kompetensi dan

Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan” (the Competency-based Curriculum and the School-

based Curriculum). Competency is defined as the integration of knowledge, skills, values,

attitudes, and interests that are reflected into daily thoughts and attitudes. The classification of

17

competencies in this curriculum included: (1) factual knowledge related to terminologies,

specific details, and basic elements of knowledge; (2) conceptual knowledge related to

classifications, principles of procedures, and information about theories, models, and paradigms;

(3) procedural knowledge related to subject-specific skills, algorithms, subject-specific

techniques and methods, and appropriate procedure usages; and (4) metacognitive knowledge

related to strategies, cognition, and self-concepts. In science classroom, competencies are

classified into science concepts, scientific processes, attitudes and values of science, and the

implementations of science in daily life (Mariana & Praginda, 2009). The basic framework of

this curriculum is as illustrated in Figure 2.2.

Figure 2.2: The basic framework of the Indonesian Competency-based Curriculum 2004

(MoEC, n.d.)

Meanwhile, the school-based curriculum refers to standards of content, and standards of

graduation competency for elementary and secondary school. The school-based curriculum was

decentralized; the curriculum framework was designed by the national government and fully

developed by the school. There were six important components of the school-based curriculum:

vision and missions, educational goals, academic calendar, the curriculum structures—including

subjects, local contents, self-development activities for students, the arrangements of credit by

unit, majoring interests and graduations, life-skill education, supremacies of global/local-based

18

education, syllabus, and lesson plans. For five years long, schools in Indonesia applied the

school-based curriculum.

The Indonesian government released the latest nationwide competency-based curriculum

in 2013, namely Curriculum 2013, that served a purpose as an instrument to guide learners to

face the internal (education reformation condition) and external challenges (globalization issues)

(Syarif, 2015). In general, Curriculum 2013 has the same structure as school-based curriculum

that compiles operational curriculum and is implemented in each educational unit and serves as a

guideline for the implementation of the three domains of learning activities including attitudes,

knowledge, and skills (MoEC, 2014). According to Ministry of Culture and Education of the

Republic of Indonesia, within the framework of curriculum development in 2013, four out of the

eight national education standards (as stipulated in the Law on National Education System) have

significantly changed in the latest Indonesian curriculum 2013 (Nuh, 2013; Prihantoro, 2015;

Syarif, 2015). These include competencies related to the (1) graduate standards (including

attitudes, knowledge, and soft and hard skills); (2) content standards—the criteria concerning the

scope of the material to be included in instruction and level of competence to achieve the

competencies of graduates on the level and type of education. Competency level 5-6 is the

highest level for upper secondary school (high school); (3) standards of learning process

(including questioning, observing, experimenting, informal learning, role model in teaching

attitudes, etc.); and (4) standards related to assessment— the criteria regarding the

implementation of learning in the educational unit to achieve standards of graduation

competencies. Education assessment standards also include mechanisms, procedures and

instruments criteria of assessment to evaluate students’ learning outcomes.

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According to Syarif (2015), the curriculum 2013 is developed based on several factors:

(1) internal challenges—related to educational conditions associated with educational demands

of eight National Standards of Education including content standards, process standards,

graduate competency standards, educator and educational staff standards, facilities and

infrastructure standards, management standards, financing standards, and educational assessment

standard. Other internal challenges are related to the transformation of productive age population

into a human resource that possesses competence and skills through education in 2020-2035; (2)

external challenges—related to the flow of globalization and environmental issues, advances in

technology and information, the rise of creative industry and cultures, and educational

development at the international level. Current globalization will shift the pattern of community

life from agrarian and traditional commerce to modern and industrial one. External challenges

are also related to the shift of world economic power, the influence and impact of techno-science

as well as quality, investment, and transformation of education. Indonesia’s participation in the

study of International Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and

Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) since 1999 has yielded an unsatisfactory

result. This is due to the fact that a large number of test materials employed in TIMSS and PISA

are not integrated in the Indonesian curriculum; (3) perfection of thinking patterns—through

reinforcing learning pattern that is centered on the students, interactive and networking learning

pattern, active learning-seeking, self- and group-learning pattern, multimedia-based learning,

classical-mass based learning pattern focusing on developing potentials specific to each learner,

multi-disciplinary learning pattern and critical learning pattern; and (4) reinforcement of

curriculum organization—by reinforcing collaborations among teachers, strengthening school

management by appointing capable school principles as educational leaders and improving

20

facilities and infrastructure for better management and learning process; (5) Reinforcement of

biology core ideas by reducing irrelevant materials as well expanding the relevant materials for

learners; and (6) developing relevant characteristics of the IBC 2013 for Indonesian learners.

Factors Affecting Curriculum Implementation

After defining the concept of curriculum, an understanding of curriculum implementation

and factors that might affect its success would be discussed. According to Durlak and DuPre

(2008) implementation “refers to what a program consists of when it is delivered in a particular

setting” (p.329); whereas Katuuk (2014) viewed implementation as an instrument (to make ideas

into real or to reach the curriculum objectives) and a process (efforts to execute curriculum

objectives in the learning process). Katuuk (2014) also mentioned several factors that influence

curriculum implementation. They include curriculum implementation plan, curriculum

documents, teachers, facilities/infrastructure, school cultural climate, school principals, and

administrative factors. Durlak and DuPre (2008) similarly described that an effective program

implementation is influenced by factors at community level (such as funding, politic, and policy,

etc.), characteristics of provider involving “perceptions related to the need for and potential

benefits of the innovation, self-efficacy, and skill proficiency” (p.336), characteristics of

innovation (such as the ability to adapt and fit into the program user/organizations), organization

process in general (such as positive work climate, program sharing/socialization, etc.), programs

coordination and communication (sharing process), effective leadership and training as well as

technical assistance related to administrative factors.

The science curriculum in Aceh province was based on “Qanun” (Law) Aceh No. 11

Year 2014. The Qanun stated that the education system of Aceh province is conducted based on

the national education system with the adaptation of the regional socio-cultural values. As far as

21

Aceh is concerned, the curriculum is especially designed not to conflict with the Islamic laws.

The region’s education standards are the minimum criteria based on not only national education

standards but also the specificity and privileges of Aceh province (Aceh Secretariat of Law

Bureau, 2014). According to Adam (2014), the education vision of the Aceh government is to

develop dignified, prosperous, fair, and independent citizens of Aceh, a goal that is based on the

manifestation of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding1. In addition, the implementation

of the national curriculum in the region allows the addition of local contents appropriate to the

needs of the districts.

Since the culture of Acehnese society is strongly bonded to Islam, the implementation of

science curriculum must be supported by Islamic values. According to Ibrahim and Zubainur

(2015), teaching activities in Aceh are influenced by the culture and Islamic traditions and

values, as stipulated by the laws that guide the curriculum implementation. In this case, school

climate or culture is the factor that may affect the implementation of curriculum in Aceh, even

though Ibrahim in Ibrahim and Zubainur (2015) also explained that there is no significant

difference in the implementation of science curriculum before and after the implementation of

Islamic laws, arguably due to the shift in community values in the modernization era.

Curriculum Implementation: Science (Biology) Teachers’ Beliefs in Curriculum Content

When a new curriculum is introduced into schools, there are changes in the structures,

programs, and practices of the teachers and school’s organization. Based on the literature review

above, my study result might be related to those factors, which will be discussed further. These

factors, especially teachers, are influential in the implementation of biology curriculum 2013. As

1 This Memorandum of understanding was crafted between the government of the Republic of Indonesia and the

Free Aceh Movement and signed in Helsinki 15 of August 2005

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widely accepted, teachers, whose knowledge, experiences and competencies, are critical to any

curriculum improvement effort (Koto, 2013), play the most important role in the curriculum

implementation process, Teachers are an essential factor to implement what has been written in

the documents and to transform it into an actual action called learning process for students

(Ariedi, 2014). In addition, developing teacher skills for new curriculum implementation requires

a strong and good management that includes the development of professional, pedagogic,

personal and social competence (Katuuk, 2014).

Over the past several years, many studies have highlighted the relationship between

teacher beliefs and actions that affected the curriculum implementation. Previous studies found

that teacher beliefs, attitudes, depth of knowledge, and length of teaching and experiences had

influenced on science curriculum design, implementation and reformation (Roehrig & Kruse,

2005; Cheung & Ng, 2000; Cronin-Jones, 1991). Verjovsky and Waldegg (2005) also stated that

teacher’s daily attitudes in classroom were guided by the degree of coherence between beliefs

and practices of the curriculum implementation. In addition, Mansour (2009) has stated in a brief

result of his study that the relationship between teachers’ beliefs could be contrary to priority,

indirectly affect teaching practice, and context-dependent.

Regarding teacher beliefs and practices, Mansour (2009) believed that some important

points for science teacher and science curriculum development to consider are (1) the importance

of identifying and minimizing the constraints that affect teacher beliefs and practices in a

classroom, (2) awareness of teacher’s experiences as significant factor in understanding the

relationship between teacher beliefs and actions, and (3) classroom environment settings and

school administrators.

23

An important aspect of improving education quality lies in the roles that teachers must

have in curriculum implementation. In curriculum implementation, teachers play the four roles of

implementer, adapter, developer, and researcher (Alawiyah, 2016). Alawiyah also found that

there is a shift of teachers’ roles in curriculum from implementers, adapters, and developers (in

the previous curriculum known as KTSP 2006) to implementers in Curriculum 2013. In addition,

Nurmalasari et al. (2014) in her descriptive case study of teachers’ role in curriculum 2013

implementation found that in the implementation of a curriculum, teachers play their roles in

discussing and designing lesson plans, directing instructions, facilitating learning process,

teaching character education, guiding students to learn the scientific approach, selecting and

applying various teaching methods, media, and sources, applying authentic assessment and other

assessment strategies, and providing remedial assistance to students.

On the other hand, there are always different perceptions of the changes from one

curriculum to another. The term perception often called by the perspective, view, or assumption

because in perception, there is opinion of someone relating one thing or certain object.

Perception is the process which is preceded by sensing, is the process that exists accepted by the

stimulus of the individual through sensory organs or can be called sensory processes (Prabowo,

2011). Prabowo (2011) also explained two factors that influence perception: (1) functional

factors are factors that influence individual in giving perception, such as the needs, past time

experiences, and the other things which called as personal factors; and (2) structural factors,

which derived from the stimulus, physic, and nerve effects that inflicted to individual nervous

system.

Based on Prabowo (2011) explanation, teachers’ belief is determined as one of the

functional factors. Teachers’ beliefs influenced teachers’ behaviors in the instructional process to

24

determine the success of curriculum information (Isthofiyani et al., 2014). Based on the studies

above, there seems to be a strong need to know more about teachers’ beliefs regarding the

instructional process including the topic chosen and strategies advocated for reaching the

learning goals as required by the new curriculum document.

Curriculum Implementation: Instructional Strategy, Assessment and Character Education

as a Unique Indonesian Curricular Element

The Act of the Republic of Indonesia Number 20, Year 2003 on National Education

System, defines curriculum as a set of plans and regulations about the aims, content and material

of lessons as well as the method employed as the guidelines for the implementation of learning

activities to achieve given education objectives (Article 1, Verse 19). The development of

curriculum is based on national education standards in pursuing national education goals (Article

36, Verse 1), which consist of the standard of the content, process, graduate outcomes,

educational personnel, facilities and equipment, management, funding, and educational

assessment, all of which should be improved systematically and regularly (article 35, verse 1).

Based on the definition given by the Act of the Republic of Indonesia, the concept of

curriculum in Indonesia, especially in Aceh province, refers to two dimensions: (1)

content/teaching materials and objectives’ plans and regulations, and (2) methods of learning

activities. Referring to Walker (1990) in Marsh (2009), the Indonesian curriculum has included

three essential aspects of a curriculum consisting of content, aims, and organization.

In Indonesian secondary school, biology as a part of science subjects has the

characteristics of scientific knowledge, teaching the science of living things and life processes

inductively and deductively. Thus, the aims of biology learning are to:

• form a positive attitude towards biology to realize the regularity and beauty of nature

and praise the greatness of God Almighty;

25

• foster scientific attitude that is honest, objective, open-minded, resilient, critical, and

cooperative;

• gain experience in applying the scientific methods through experiments, which allow

students to test the hypotheses by designing experiments through the installation of

instruments, collecting, processing and interpreting data, and presenting the result;

• increase awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of the application of biology

to individual, society, and the environment as well as to recognize the importance of

managing and conserving the environment for the welfare of society;

• understand the concepts, principles, laws, and theories of biology and

interrelationships and its application to solve problems in everyday life and

technology.

Biology should be learned in scientific inquiry to foster students’ ability to think,

practice, behave, and communicate it as an important aspect of life skills. Therefore, biology as a

subject in high school / MA / SMK emphasized providing direct learning experience through the

use and development of process skills and scientific attitude. Models of teaching or teaching

strategies have been invented by many developers (redevelopers). Joyce et al. (2014) defines

models of teaching not only as a learning environment but also a behavior portrait of teachers

when applying any models as their instructional strategies. The models of teaching that have

been grouped by Joyce et al. are shown in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1: Models of teaching (Joyce et al., 2014, pp.26-33)

Group Teaching Models Sub-Teaching Models

The social family

(models)

Partners in learning

Group investigation

Role playing

Jurisprudential inquiry

Positive interdependence

Structured inquiry

26

Group Teaching Models Sub-Teaching Models

The personal family

(models)

Nondirective teaching

Enhancing self-esteem

Information-processing

models

Inductive thinking

(classification oriented)

Concept attainment

Mnemonics (memory assist)

The picture-word inductive

Advance organizers

Scientific inquiry

Inquiry training

Synectics

The behavioral system

family

Mastery learning

Direct instruction

Simulation

Social learning

Programmed scheduled

(task performance

reinforcement

As stated in the guideline book for Indonesian curriculum 2013 (Syarif, 2015), science is

taught in Indonesian high schools using scientific-based approach, such as discovery learning,

project-based learning, problem-based learning, and inquiry learning, while authentic assessment

is used as the basis of teaching evaluation. Moreover, research on science or biology teaching in

Indonesia has shown that inquiry-based learning, unaccompanied or collaborated with other

teaching techniques, has resulted in differences in students’ achievements, science skill process

and critical thinking constructions (Sutama et al., 2014; Rahmasiswi, 2015; Nur et al., 2016;

Purwati et al., 2016; Lasmo et al., 2017). The research claims that the improvement can be seen

from the ability of students that had significantly improved from the first cycle to the last cycle

in action class research. Additionally, the Indonesia GSS 2013 Biology curriculum has also

directed Biology teachers to apply project-based learning, discovery learning, and authentic

assessment. One of the studies was conducted in order to see if project-based learning (PBL)

Table 2.1. (Cont.)

27

could influence students’ outcomes in learning biology. In learning using the project-based

learning, students are guided to take an active role in different kinds of learning activities. They

are able to have a chance to combine the knowledge with skill elements into the study process to

produce the knowledge and skill to plan, to solve the problems and to communicate about

process or product. Not only are the students able to master the content of the subjects, but they

also have the chance to experience learning through skill development process and scientific

attitudes.

One of the most basic and challenging tasks that teachers face in their work is the process

of assessment. Classroom assessment includes all the process involved in making decisions

about students learning progress. It includes the observation of students’ written work, their

answers to questions in class, and performance on teacher-made and standardized tests.

However, most classroom teachers assume that assessment is simply to measure student’s

achievement on a certain subject (Koto, 2013).

Authentic assessment has been introduced to the Indonesian education system since 2013.

It is believed that this type of assessment can develop the students’ knowledge and help them to

be ready for the global challenges. An authentic assessment has been applied due to its relevance

to the scientific learning approaches. Authentic assessment tends to focus on complex or

contextual tasks, allowing learners to demonstrate their competencies which include attitudes,

knowledge, and skills. In other words, authentic assessment is the assessment of performance

including portfolio and project assessment. Therefore, this authentic assessment could assist

teachers to plan a remedial, enrichment, and counseling for students (Syarif, 2015). A study by

DiMartino et al., (2007) indicates that local authentic assessment is given a fold formula,

including scores, program information, state exam results and some other data, in order to make

28

graduation decisions. In their research, they found that the use of authentic assessment in

classroom has led to students’ high-level thinking skills, expertise, relevance, and instructional

fluency. Authentic assessment has also increased opportunities for students to develop global

awareness, community involvement, and learning skills. However, not as fancy as it sounds,

authentic assessment in the Indonesian education system particularly in biology classrooms is not

well implemented. Three major reasons why this assessment is not successfully implemented in

some schools in Indonesia are (1) there are no significant evidence that teacher learning design is

created on the basis of the integration of assessment and instruction, (2) there are only limited

tools for authentically assessing students; teachers are still using paper and pencil tests, and (3)

the quality and availability of the alternative instruments such as graphic organizer, portfolio,

journals still need to be improved.

Furthermore, teaching-learning process is tangled with the character education teaching.

Character education has been implemented obliquely since long time ago in a classroom without

certain measurement. Yet, many national and social issues regarding immoral behaviors, such as

national examination corruption, bullying cases, and drugs abuse have encouraged our

government and educators to create certain policies as responses to these moral/social problems.

The idea of character education can be applied in all of the formal or non-formal

education settings. It means that the development of character education involves the

responsibility of the government and the whole society. The characteristic descriptions of

Curriculum 2013 have orientation in developing the character education of students. Educational

character teaches students how to be their best-self and how to do their best work (Tannir &

Anies, 2013). Therefore, teachers are encouraged to teach the values of character education. The

29

following are the values that should be integrated into science teaching-learning process for

students to implement inside and outside the schools.

Table 2.2: Character educations for high school biology subject (MoEC, n.d.)

No Values Descriptions

1 Religious Attitudes and behaviors of obedience towards the religious

practices, attitudes of tolerance towards other religious practices

and live in harmony with the people from other religions.

2 Honesty Attitudes, which are based on the efforts to make oneself

trustworthy in daily practices, activities, and works.

3 Tolerance Attitudes and actions that respect the differences in religions,

ethnicity, opinions, behaviors and other people practices

4 Discipline Attitudes that show obedience towards rules and regulations

5 Hard work Attitudes that show genuine efforts in overcoming problems in

learning and duty, as well as in completing tasks thoroughly

6 Creative Thinking and implementing something which results in a new

invention from what one has acquired

7 Independent Attitudes and behaviors which show one’ independence to other

people in completing his/her tasks

8 Democratic The way of thinking, behaving, and acting which reflects equality

in obligations and rights among all people

9 Curious Attitudes and behaviors that show the will to find out more about

everything that one sees hears and studies

10 Spirit of

Nationalism

The way of thinking, acting and behaving that upholds the needs of

the country is always above other needs

11 Patriotic Attitudes and behaviors that show the loyalty, care and high respect

for national language, physical environment, social life, culture,

economy, and politics

12 Appreciative to

Achievement

Attitudes and behaviors that encourage one to produce something

that is useful to the society and also respectful of others’ creativity

13 Friendly /

Communicative

Attitudes which show the willingness to communicate, engage and

cooperate with other people

14 Peacekeeping Attitudes, speech, and action which can make other people feel

comfortable and safe while being around one

15 Love of Reading A habit of spending some time reading something that is useful for

him/her

16 Care for the

Environment

Attitudes and behavior which show the will to avoid damaging the

surrounding environment and also the efforts to repair the damage

to the environment

17 Social Care Attitudes and behaviors that show the will to help others and to

give aids and goods to other people who are in needs

18 Responsibility Attitudes and behaviors that reflect the obedience in doing one’s

responsibility towards oneself, him/her family, society,

environment and god.

30

The Perspective of Religious Aspects in Science Education

The relationship between religion and science has long debates so that it needs bridging

the gaps by enhancing how science and religion are taught. Some of the adequate literature that

addressed the issue are works of Mansour (2008) and Billingsley et al. (2014). Mansour in

searching the gaps tends to examine personal belief and experience of the teachers because they

are somebody who transforms some knowledge. Meanwhile, Billingsley et al. (2014) point out

some new insights although they approached their research by interviewing the teachers.

Affected by the issue of whether science and religion compete or correlate with each other,

Billingsley examines how science and religion are taught by science and religious education

teacher to find curriculum design and teaching. Interviewing 16 teachers in a secondary school in

England, they highlighted that there is little collaboration in the curriculum that involving

science and religion. Then, although there is no collaboration, the students are influenced by

their religious understanding in the process of learning science.

Thus, according to Billingsley et al., (2014), there is difficulty in teaching both science

and religion as both are in debates. There can be many opinions of what science is or what

religion is that become challenges for the teachers that they should face. He also added that the

challenges, as well as the solutions for the gaps, are the teachers of science or religious education

should have competence in both subjects. Also, the teachers should not feel unconfident to share

with each other. In addition, the teachers should not focus on the tension of science and religion,

but they should give an explanation why there are distinctions of views about the subjects.

Reflecting to what Billingsley suggests, I see that practically sometimes the teachers of science

do not consider that religion also has an important role in science, or religious education teachers

does not think that science is also significant in understanding religion.

31

To elaborate the relationship of science and religion, we can refer to the frontier scholars,

Lynn White from Christianity and Seyyed Hussein Nasr from Islam who contemplated the

relation of human and nature (Jenkins, 2009). Lynn White argues that historical roots of the

ecological crisis lie in the religious cosmology of anthropocentrism and instrumentalism view of

nature in western Christianity (Jenkins, 2009). In other words, religion has important role in

constructing knowledge about nature. Consequently, this hypothesis influenced religious people

to reexamine their religions, including scholar from Islam, Nasr. Nasr is frontier in Islam who

addresses the relation of religion and nature by his influential work, Religion and the Order of

Nature of 1947 (Nasr, 1996). It is likely Nasr agrees with Lynn White’s criticizing modernity

that influenced by Western Christianity. On the other hand, Nasr (2017) in his paper has invited

us to resacralize the nature because he saw that ecological crisis had been exacerbated by the

reductionist view of nature that has been advanced by modern secular science. Therefore, in this

sense, I agree that science and religion should coexist together, and this view should be

transformed to the student.

In the context of Indonesia, religion has important role in several aspects as well as in

education. As part of the vision of elected president in 2014, the president pointed to the

importance of character education, moral education, and ethics education that put forward the

values of Indonesia’s national motto “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” (“Unity in Diversity”) (Suhadi et

al., 2015). This issue is implied it 2013 Curriculum as applied government. There is the

responsibility of the teachers of any subjects to encourage the students to have character, moral

and ethics impacts. Importantly, what happens in Indonesia relates to what Billingsley suggests

through his findings, that there should be a collaboration among teachers of any subjects to

maximize how to teach their students.

32

The U.S. Next Generation Science Standards: Its Development and Studies

The development of science curriculum in the states of the United States began two

centuries ago, influenced by European educational theories and ideas during the eighteen and

nineteenth centuries, such as the scientific discoveries, textbooks, and the technological

apparatus (DeBoer, 2003). Currently, schools in the United States implement the Next Science

Generation Standards (NGSS) that was developed by the National Research Council (NRC), the

National Science Teachers Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of

Science, with collaborative work from states and other stakeholders in science, science

education, higher education, and industries. The NGSS began by developing a Framework for K-

12 science education, preparing students for college and careers (NGSS Lead States, 2013). The

NGSS framework presents the three dimensions to form each standard including practices—

specific knowledge and skills when conducting an investigation; crosscutting concepts, and

disciplinary ideas (NRC, 2012). The performance expectations (PE) are statements about what

students should know and be able to do (NSTA, 2014) about the instruction, which combines

those aspects in the connection box. PEs are designed to guide the development of assessments,

so they are not teaching strategies nor the objectives of a lesson. According to the NSTA (2014),

the foundation boxes explain the learning goals that includes the most essential ideas in the

major science disciplines that all students should understand during the years of school (DCIs),

the statement about the construction of the PEs (science and engineering practices) and

“statements about the ideas such as pattern and cause-effect, which are not specific to any one

disciplines but can cut cross them all” (crosscutting concepts). For instance, for the LS1.A

structure and function, the crosscutting concepts are the use of models (such as physical,

mathematical, computer model) to create energy, matter, and information flows at different

33

scales. The foundation box “identifies other topics in NGSS and in the Common Core State

Standards (CCSS) that are relevant to PEs” (NSTA, 2013). The foundation box consists of

several statements regarding the “connections to other disciplinary core ideas in this grade level,

articulation of disciplinary core ideas across grade levels, and connections to the Common Core

State Standards” in mathematics and language arts.

According to the National Research Council (2012), the Next Generation Science

Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards comprising a set of the expectations for

what students should know and be able to do (www.nextgenscience.org). The NGSS aims to

provide opportunity in science education and student’s achievement improvement that

emphasizes research-based and up-to-date science standards as its rationale to develop an in-

depth understanding of content and to develop key skills—communication, collaboration,

inquiry, problem-solving, and flexibility—that will serve them throughout their educational and

professional lives. Therefore, the practices of science and engineering in the NGSS have

rationales as follows:

• To help students understand the development of scientific knowledge and the work of

engineers and their relationship such as the use of several approaches to do investigations

of worlds’ phenomena.

• To make students’ knowledge more meaningful by understanding the science and

engineering crosscutting concepts and disciplinary ideas.

• To broad students’ interest and curiosity of science and engineering creative works to

challenge and solve the world’s phenomena, such as climate change, energy renewal,

diseases prevention and treatment, fresh water and food supply conservation, thus

motivating them to continue their study.

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• To educate students about the importance of scientific products’ development

(application) and establishment, not the products themselves (the sciences facts) or the

peripheral importance of engineering.

In addition, to support teachers in reaching the goals, there are eight essential practices of

science and engineering in science learning process (NGSS Lead States, 2013) named in the

document:

• Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (engineering)

• Developing and using models

• Planning and carrying out an investigation

• Analyzing and interpreting data

• Using mathematics and computational thinking

• Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)

• Engaging in argument from evidence

• Obtaining, analyzing, and communicating information

Moreover, the NGSS provides guiding principles for K-12 science including an emphasis

on the interconnection of practices and experiences of nature and coherence of science concepts

across K-12, the intention of content understanding and application, the integration of science

and engineering and the alignment between NGSS and Common Core (McComas, 2013).

However, Reiser (2013), as discussed by Lederman & Lederman (2014), stated that

providing the framework for K-12 and adopting NGSS should be followed by the enforcement

on professional development (PD) of science teachers and teaching practices. In their study, they

found four effective PDs for teacher’s classroom practices consisting of the deep direct links to

the subject matter, which require teachers to connect their science teaching practices into specific

35

scientific context; PD should be an active practice of problem-solving and analysis instead of

making teachers a role model; PD should focus on giving a chance for teachers to apply ideas of

their own in teaching practice changes; and PD should be able to connect to “practice [which]

requires that teachers explore what a coherent system of student learning, classroom teaching,

assessment, and curriculum materials needs to achieve, and work on changes across these

corresponding parts of a system” (p.15). Furthermore, Bowman and Govett (2014) add that

teachers’ PD should be in the direct company of scientists to understand the knowledge and

skills required in teaching science.

There are also several studies that have been conducted on the framework and NGSS

implementation, such as the difficulties and misconceptions on the NRC content standards

(Sadler et al., 2013), the impact of PD workshop on high school teachers’ Pedagogical Content

Knowledge for scientific argumentation (McNeill & Night, 2013), and on teachers’ instruction

planned through their understandings of the NGSS (Lo et al., 2014), challenges and opportunities

for the design and use of assessment to assess performance expectations that link science

practices, cross-cutting concepts, and core content knowledge (Pellegrino, 2013).

Summary of Literature Review

This literature review section begins by introducing readers to the curriculum concept and

comparison analysis studies, also the educational context in which the study will take place by

discussing general features of the education system in Indonesia as well as the latest curriculum

currently being implemented. Also, I discussed the history and development of curriculum in

Indonesia and science curriculum implementation related to science (biology), teachers’ beliefs

on curriculum contents, science teaching practices, and assessments, as well as character

education integration in teaching and learning. The perspectives of religious aspects in science

36

curriculum have been mentioned to expand the information of character integration in teaching

and learning science. Further, an overview about the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

and its studies have served the purpose of comparing several aspects of Indonesian biology

curriculum 2013 and the NGSS-Life Science. Summary of literature review, gaps in literature,

conclusion and research motivations have been provided in this chapter.

Gaps in Literatures

Although there has been a study on primary school teachers’ response on the curriculum

implementation in Indonesia, it was related to the competency-based curriculum namely

curriculum 2004 which has no longer been implemented in Indonesian education system.

Additionally, comparative studies of the United States’ school curriculum and Indonesia’s

curriculum 2013 or the Australian and Indonesia junior high school curriculum 2013 have been

conducted with a different focus and a different case study area. The comparison found between

the Australian curriculum and Indonesia Science Curriculum 2013 for school years of 7-9 by

Michie (2017) is as follows:

“When compared to the Australian Curriculum, the Science Curriculum reveals

that the contents are similar, as are key ideas and skills, and each curriculum has

its approach to assessing achievement. Sustainability is a major cross-curriculum

feature of both curriculums” (p.83)

There is no exact study relating to the comparison between the NGSS-Life science

standards and Indonesian biology curriculum 2013 at the senior secondary school level. Finally, I

have not found any studies discussing teachers’ opinion of an ideal curriculum and proper

curriculum topics which should have been taught, especially by Acehnese biology teachers.

37

Conclusion and Research Motivations

A curriculum has significant roles in education. Curriculum development is also a

dynamic process that keeps changing to adjust the world requirement for better education and to

fit in the countries in which it is implemented. In Indonesia, the curriculum has been reformatted

ten times since the Independence Day in 1945 and has been developed to meet the better

education system. Further, as an agent of curriculum empowerment, the government should have

considered teachers’ belief as an important factor for implementation of curriculum. Teacher

professional development is an essential aspect to support curriculum implementation. Proper

training and teachers’ access to adequate information would lead to the successful

implementation of a new curriculum. By reviewing other science standards/curricula from other

countries—in this case, that of The United States of America—and collecting teachers’ opinion

relating to curriculum content and teaching strategies, there is a potential to analyze what

teachers are actually dealing with in implementing a new curriculum design.

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CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODS

Introduction

To address the purposes of this study, this chapter provides the nature of study, specific

methods to answer the research questions including sampling procedure, instruments, document

analysis, and data collection procedure. Research questions asked in this case studies were

prepared to gather senior secondary school teachers’ opinion in relation to their efforts in

implementing the new curriculum 2013. This study has also inquired the comparison between the

next generation science standards and Indonesian high school biology curriculum 2013.

Therefore, the guiding research questions in this study are:

1. How does the Indonesian biology curriculum 2013 content compare with related aspects of

the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)?

2. How do Indonesian teachers in Aceh Province value aspects of the required biology

content?

3. What aspects and with what frequency do Indonesian-Acehnese teachers teach the various

aspects of the biology curriculum 2013?

4. What instructional methods are used by these Indonesian-Acehnese biology teachers to

support students in understanding biology?

5. What general perceptions are reported by these Indonesian-Acehnese teachers regarding

the required biology assessment in the Indonesian curriculum 2013 document?

6. How do Indonesian-Acehnese biology teachers integrate the required aspects of character

education into biology instruction?

39

Nature of Study

The study was based on a survey of teachers’ opinions about their beliefs on biology

curriculum contents and teaching strategies in supporting their actions. Creswell (2012) states

that a survey study is used to describe trends in population, such as to identify important beliefs,

attitudes, opinions, behaviors, or characteristics of individuals or population. Furthermore, a

mixed-methods approach was used in this study to investigate teachers’ opinions and practices of

content and process in senior secondary biology curriculum in Aceh located at the western end of

the Island of Sumatra in Indonesia. A mixed-methods research in general is an investigation that

involves the integration of quantitative and qualitative data collection, analyses, and

interpretation in a single study or a series of studies to provide better understanding of the

research problem (Leech & Onwuegbuzie, 2009; Creswell & Tashakkori, 2007; Creswell, 2012;

Creswell and Plano Clark, 2011).

Mixed-method research also allows researchers to use multiple approaches to answer

research questions (Creswell, 2009). Also, this research was considered as a phenomenological

study because I investigated teachers’ opinions and actions as well as their experiences and

interpretations of the educational process (Merriam, 2009; Hatch, 2002). The purpose of mixed-

methods in my study was a complementarity (i.e., using quantitative and qualitative techniques

to elaborate, enrich, and illustrate the data gathered) (Onwuegbuzie & Leech, 2006).

Furthermore, my study is best classified as partially mixed-concurrent equal status design

because (1) qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed approximately at the

same points in time [qualitative analysis was used to answer research question no. 1 and to

enrich research questions 2, 3 and 5, while the quantitative analysis was used to analyze research

questions 2, 3, and 4]; (2) qualitative and quantitative analyses were mixed when making a meta-

40

inference from separate quantitative and qualitative findings (3) the qualitative and quantitative

components were at the same weights of this study (Leech and Onwuegbuzie, 2009;

Onwuegbuzie & Johnson, 2006).

Ethical Considerations

This study has been approved by the University of Arkansas Review Board, IRB#16-06-

791 (Appendix A). A permission letter about the survey process, attached with field research

approval letter from National Education Agency of Aceh Province (NEA-A), and a support letter

from my advisor, have been sent to the head of NEA-A in each district as a formal information to

be announced to the headmasters and all General Senior Secondary School (GSSS) biology

teachers at their districts.

Data Collection Procedure

The first stage of my procedure was to examine the documents and relevant articles to

find possible similar and different components of the latest Indonesian Biology Curriculum and

Life Science Framework of the Next Generation Science Standards. The information found

provided a vital foundation for this study and is generally discussed in Chapter 2. The number of

questionnaires distributed to each district was based on half of the total number of biology high

school teachers at that district (these data were unofficially provided by the National Education

Bureau of Aceh province). A cover letter (Appendix B) from the National Education Bureau of

Aceh province and the consent form were attached to the questionnaire to encourage response

and to help subjects understand that this work had official support. Thus, those questionnaires

were mailed to the persons in charge (PIC) at each district to be presented in monthly biology

teacher meeting (MGMP). Afterward, the PICs were returned the questionnaires in a week by

mail. Creswell (2012) states that a questionnaire distributed by mail is a straightforward way to

41

reach a wide range of geographical sample of a population. For several districts, I was directly

involved in the meetings and collected the questionnaires.

The distribution and data collection process took almost four months (August to

November), because of some reasons such as the idle school time in the Aceh during fasting

month (Ramadhan in Islamic lunar calendar) and missed teachers’ meetings or unfixed meeting

schedules in several districts. To overcome this challenge, the PICs were distributed the

questionnaires and were collected 3-5 days after at the schools. Besides, respondents from rural

area returned the questionnaire directly to the researcher or PICs by mail. The follow-up

telephone conversation was conducted if potential subjects did not give any responses after the

given specific time. On the other hand, in the process of data collection, I could not get enough

access to one district in Aceh due to a flood disaster that occurred at that time, unavailable PIC,

and lack of cooperation among teachers and school alumni. Thus, generalizability to the entire

province is limited because of these issues.

Meanwhile, the interviews were conducted using semi-structured questions (Appendix A)

by phone. Teachers who have been trained by the Education Quality Insurance Board of Aceh

province (EQIBA) to use the biology curriculum 2013 were asked their willingness to participate

in the interview process. Several teachers refused to be interviewed because of their lacks of

time. Therefore, the number of selected interviewees was based on the saturation responses

given. Collins explained that saturation refers to the degree of confidence that all meanings from

the collected data were extracted from the sample used in the study and it could occur using a

small purposive sample (personal communication, April 15, 2015). In this case, all interviewees

offered similar responses to the questions given. Furthermore, according to Collins (2010), the

minimum sample size recommendation for a phenomenological qualitative research design is ≥ 6

42

or ≥ 10. Moreover, a convenience-sampling scheme was used due to the respondents’

willingness (Collins, 2010) to participate in the interview part.

Research Settings and Subjects

Sampling (sample size and sample scheme) is vital in this study to assist in ascertaining

high-quality inferences drawn from underlying data (Collin, Onwuegbuzie, & Jiao, 2006). In this

study, I conducted a concurrent design using identical samples for the quantitative and

qualitative components (Collin, Onwuegbuzie, & Jiao, 2006). The teachers who are the subjects

in the study were GSSS biology teachers in Aceh. There were 1,154 GSSS biology teachers

scattered across 436 schools (public and private) in 23 Aceh districts (Figure 3.1). The selected

sample size was based on a confidence level of 95 percent and the margin of error of 5 percent,

which is counted N=288 as the representative sample size (Creative Research System, 2012).

The teachers were selected from the latest database of biology teachers in the Aceh provided by

the Education Quality Insurance Board of Aceh (EQIBA). From the source information given,

the ratio of female and male general secondary school teachers in Aceh province was 2:1, and

there was no exact information of the ratio of female and male biology teachers that could be

accessed in specific. Subjects were asked to fill in the questionnaires consisting of closed-ended

and open-ended questions. The number of questionnaires distributed for each district was based

on half of the total number of biology teachers’ distribution in each district (approximately 600

sets of questionnaires). The assumption was that by distributing fifty percent, I would reach the

total sample needed from the population.

From approximately five hundred sets of questionnaires distributed, there were two

hundred and eighty-nine (n=289) questionnaires returned, including three invalid ones due to

incomplete responses on the background information at part two of the questionnaire’s question.

43

Therefore, the final sample size was 286. Table 3.1 shows that the sample of this study was

dominated by female teachers (n=228). Additionally, majority teachers at the age of 35-44 years

old (n=91) were the subjects of this study, yet some of the teachers refused to specify their ages

(n=39). In this case, based on field observation, it seems that many senior teachers did not want

to mention their ages.

Figure 3.1: Map of cities and districts in the Aceh Province of Indonesia (Petatematikindo,

2013).

The number of public schools in Indonesia and Aceh is higher than that of private

schools. Because of this, most of the subjects in this study were teachers from public schools

(n=254), while the others were teachers from private ones (n=32). Although several teachers did

not provide their school locations (n=44), it is clear that the number of subjects from rural

44

locations (n=95) in this study was slightly different from that from urban areas (n=83).

Moreover, approximately eighty-eight percent of biology teachers in Aceh hold bachelor’s

degrees (n=224) even though a majority of them did not mention their graduation years (no

response, n=90).

Most of GSSS teachers had more than 15 years of teaching experiences (n=80), yet the

latest curriculum (Curriculum 2013) as well as the integration of character education in teaching

strategies is still quite new to them because this curriculum has just been implemented since

2013.

Table 3.1: Demography of subjects of GSSS Biology teachers

Characteristics Number of Subjects (%)

Genders

Male

Female

48 (16.8)

228 (79.7)

No response 10 (3.5)

Ages (year)

25 - 34

35 - 44

69 (24.1)

91 (31.8)

45 - 54 69 (24.1)

55 - 64 18 (6.3)


Types of GSSS

Public

Private

254 (88.8)

32 (11.2)

School Locations

Rural

Sub-urban

95 (33.2)

64 (22.4)

Urban 83 (29.0)


Highest Academic Qualifications

Bachelor

Master

Doctoral

Other

No response

254 (88.8)

26 (9.1)

0 (0.0)

1 (0.3)

5 (1.7)

Years of Graduation

1984-1990

1991-1997

1998-2004

2005-2011

2012-2018

20 (7.0)

31 (7.0)

61 (21.3)

56 (19.6)

28 (9.8)

45

Characteristics Number of Subjects (%)


Lengths of Teaching Biology

<1 year

1-5 years

6-10 years

11-15 years

18 (6.3)

37 (12.9)

78 (27.3)

67 (23.4)

>15 years

No response

80 (28.0)

6 (2.1)

Lengths of Curriculum Usage

None

< 1 month

1-5 months

6-10 months

>12 months

No response

48 (16.8)

30 (10.5)

88 (30.8)

34 (11.9)

81 (28.3)

5 (1.7)

Lengths of Character Integration

None

< 1 month

1-5 months

6-10 months

>12 months

No response

33 (11.5)

34 (11.9)

73 (25.5)

45 (15.7)

95 (33.2)

6 (2.1)

Description of the Survey Instrument

A survey with both closed and open-ended questions was the primary data collection tool

in this study (see Appendix A1 for the English version and Appendix A2 for Bahasa). The

instrument was designed to gather specific information on teachers’ perspectives and teaching

practices of biology curriculum contents. Basically, the instrument was divided into three parts:

(a) background information of respondents; (b) perceptions/view of respondents about biology

topics (quantitative); and (c) semi-structured questions, which purposely gather information

about teachers’ general views on character integration techniques in teaching and the standards

of biology assessments (qualitative). Furthermore, open-ended questions, adapted from

Coenders, et al. (2008), were prepared for this study. I adapted and modified the interview

Table 3.1. (Cont.)

46

questions from Coenders because they were designed to find information about teachers’ beliefs

regarding curriculum content and thus aligned well with the goals of my study.

The background information part was designed to gather certain demographic data including the

background of subjects, personal details (gender, age, type of school – public or private, and

school location – rural, sub-urban, urban); educational backgrounds (highest academic

qualification and year of graduation); and teaching experiences (length of teaching biology,

experiences using the 2013 Biology Curriculum and teaching experiences with character

integration). All information in this part was transformed into nominal and ordinal data scale for

the data analysis.

The quantitative parts of the instruments consisted of thirty-four (n=34) biology topics

extracted from the Senior Secondary Biology 2013 Curriculum of Indonesia (SSBCI 2013), and

simply presented below (Table 3.2) based on branches of biology knowledge written by the

Indonesian Biologists Consortium (Konsorsium Biologi Indonesia, 2015). The purpose of the

table was to overview the proportion of biology topics taught in 2013 Indonesia biology

curriculum. In Part II (A), a “Yes and No” answer was used to gather the information on whether

those biology topics were taught. Moreover, the ordinal data scale was used by involving of 5-

Likert scale (Strongly Important, Important, Neutral, Less Important, and Not Important) to

gather teacher’s opinions on the importance of biology topics in facilitating students’ knowledge

construction. Furthermore, the questions in Part II (C and D) required the subjects to tick (√) in

the space to indicate each of the teaching strategies reflected in the classroom practices and

assessment techniques respectively.

47

Table 3.2: Groups of biology topics listed from SSBCI 2013 for the survey instrument

Branches of Biology Item Number N Items

Biology cell and molecule 2, 21,28 3

Physiology 13-15,26 4

Genetics 1,22,23,27 4

Structure and Development 3-12, 20,29 12

Biosystematics and Evolution 24,25,30-34 7

Ecology 16-19 4

Furthermore, the qualitative parts of the instrument consisted of three questions. The first

questions ask the subjects about their perceptions on the standards of biology assessment in

curriculum document. They consist of several derived questions: (a) Do you use any different

strategies (not mentioned above) to teach any biology topics? Please explain; (b) How do you

integrate the character values in your teaching? Provide examples, (c) What do you think of the

assessment that is required in the biology curriculum? Please explain your response. In addition,

to enrich the information of the questionnaire, a set of semi-structured interview questions was

used during one-on-one interview section including questions about the essential elements that

should be presented in teaching practice, the challenges/problems and opportunities arising in the

implementation of curriculum and their consideration of an ideal biology curriculum in terms of

representative biology contents.

Validity and Reliability of the Instrument

A valid measurement is necessary if the results of any study are to have utility. A valid

instrument is one that measures what it is supposed to measure. To examine the content validity

of the instrument used in this study, a peer review was conducted to check the content validity of

the instrument. A professor from Curriculum and Instruction Department of the University of

48

Arkansas, three professors from Syiah Kuala University (USK)—two college professors from the

Biology Education Department and one from Indonesia Study Department, and one biology

instructor who is working in the Education Quality Insurance Board provided content-related

validity (Creswell, 2012) for the instruments. In addition, member-checking has been conducted

to validate the interview questions. Thus, a pilot study had been conducted to assess the

questionnaire reliability. Seventeen (n=17) teachers who were not part of the study samples were

asked to review the questionnaire to determine the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. Those selected

seventeen teachers had implemented or had been trained to adequate information and skill to

apply the biology curriculum 2013. Table 3.3 shows the coefficient values for each construct

category measured. All the alpha coefficients showed values above 0.70, meaning that those

construct categories had high reliability.

Table 3.3: Cronbach’s alpha values for the measured construct of biology topic items

Categories of Construct Alpha Coefficient

Topic taught 0.89

Level of importance 0.87

Teaching strategy 0.92

Assessment (attitude) 0.98

Assessment (knowledge) 0.99

Assessment (skill) 0.94

Specific Methodology to Address Research Questions

The visual summary of research questions and data source applied to this study is

depicted in Figure 3.2 below:

49

Figure 3.2: Overview of diagram of research sources and procedure in addressing research

questions.

Research Question 1: How does the Indonesian biology curriculum 2013 content compare with

related aspects of the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)?

I was engaged in a study of the relevant literature to generate information in order to

compare the Indonesian 2013 biology curriculum documents and the related aspects of the Next

Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in the U.S, which was presented descriptively. The

Indonesian curriculum documents used included the training material of 2013 biology

curriculum for teachers, biology syllabi, and the biology books for students and teachers

provided by the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture; while the website of NGSS at

www.nextgenscience.org and A Framework for K-12 Science Education were used as

comparison documents. The comparison elements were adapted from Ruddock & Salisbury

(2008) points of comparison between the primary core curriculum in England and those of other

50

high-performing countries such as Singapore, Hongkong, the Netherlands, etc., which are

supported by the National Foundation for Educational Research. Thus, although there is no clear

definition for each element of comparison, Ruddock & Sainsbury has given adequate results to

read. Therefore, both NGSS standard and Indonesia biology curriculum documents were

synthesized and reported.

Research Question 2: How do Indonesian teachers in Aceh Province value aspects of the

required biology content?

The GSSS biology teachers’ perceptions of the importance of each topic of the Biology

2013 curriculum content were transformed into frequency and percentage data information from

the questionnaire part II (B). Additionally, the theme construction of interview question no.3

regarding ideal curriculum content enriched the information about teachers’ view of the 2013

biology topics mandated in the curriculum.

Research Question 3: What aspects and with what frequency do Indonesian-Acehnese teachers

teach the various aspects of the biology curriculum 2013?

Accumulated GSSS biology teachers’ responses to Part II (A) were analyzed and resulted

in frequency and percentage data information of the value of biology contents of the 2013

curriculum. Furthermore, the interview questions related to Q2 about the challenges and

opportunities in the 2013 curriculum implementation process were analyzed to form themes of

factors that might affect their perceptions to teach such biology topics.

Research Question 4: What instructional methods are used by these Indonesian-Acehnese

biology teachers to support students in understanding biology?

The strategy implemented in teaching biology curriculum contents was analyzed using

the Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet to find the frequency of teacher responses. Thus, the open-

51

ended questions (Part III, Q1) of the survey form and the interview question no.1 were analyzed

thematically based on the models of teaching by Joyce, et al. (2015) to expand the quantitative

part responses.

Research Question 5: What general perceptions are reported by these Indonesian-Acehnese

teachers regarding the required biology assessment in the Indonesian curriculum 2013

document?

Descriptive statistics in the form of frequency and percentage table were produced using

the Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet to sum the most types of assessments that GSSS biology

teachers used in their classes. Meanwhile, their open-ended responses (Part III, Q3) about the

assessment required in the Biology Curriculum 2013 were presented in themes/categories.

Research Question 6: How do Indonesian-Acehnese biology teachers integrate the required

aspects of character education into biology instruction?

Thematic analysis was used to analyze the open-ended Q2 of the survey, by applying the

modification steps of an instruction model and the required character education in the Biology

Curriculum 2013 as the theme categories. This analysis would present the connection of the

character education applied by teacher at a certain instructional step.

Data Entry, Reduction, and Analysis

All demographic data information and quantitative data on teachers’ perceptions gathered

from respondents were tabulated into an Excel® spreadsheet and analyzed to provide a

descriptive picture of the subjects. Then, the demographic data were analyzed descriptively using

the SPSS® Statistic Data Editor, and the missing data would be reported with the number “9”.

The quantitative and open-ended data were exported into an Excel® spreadsheet while the

interview transcriptions were written in the MS Word® document. For the open-ended data, I

52

entered all the responses and highlighted the identical words and or similar sentences to be

categorized. Thus, I created themes to give sense/meaning for the responses. As for the interview

responses, the interview transcript that had been collected was initially reviewed. Afterward,

category construction was conducted inductively and was responsive to the certain teaching and

learning theory and the research questions. According to Merriam (2009), the themes constructed

during data analysis should meet several conditions: responsive to the purpose of the research,

exhaustive, mutually exclusive, sensitive, and conceptually congruent.

Therefore, the data analysis result will be presented and described in Chapter 4.

Introduction and chapter organization will also be provided.

53

CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Introduction

The purposes of this study of General Senior Secondary School (GSSS) Biology

teachers’ perspectives and practices were to determine teachers’ general perceptions of the

importance of the required biology topics; to assess teaching strategies used to teach biology

topics and to integrate the required character education component into classrooms; to gather

teachers’ general opinions of the biology assessment required in the curriculum; and to

determine the differences and similarities between Indonesia Biology curriculum 2013 and the

corresponding life science framework within the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards

(NGSS). Additionally, the comparison mainly aimed to see the biology content (biology teaching

materials) listed from both countries, and not to identify the “better” sets of standards.

In this chapter, I have started the presentation of the data analysis result by each research

questions and provided the conclusions at the end of each question. The result provided might

include any ideas acquired from the field note observation.

Result

Research Question 1: How does the Indonesian biology Curriculum 2013 content compare

to the related aspects of the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)?

Since the NGSS life standards are not curricula per se, I selected only several elements

that could possibly be compared with the Indonesian biology curriculum 2013 (IBC 2013). A

general comparison of the Indonesian biology curriculum and the U.S. NGSS Life Science was

performed by inspecting several documents side by side. Therefore, Table 4.1 describes a

summary of findings regarding the NGSS standards and Indonesia biology curriculum.

54

Table 4.1: Summary of the comparison between the NGSS (life science) and Indonesia

curriculum 2013

Comparison Element USA NGSS (Life Science) Standards IBC 2013 (Senior Secondary

School) Structure of the Document

The standards were organized by

performance, foundations, and coherence;

comprising three science learning

dimensions consisting of the crosscutting

concepts, science and engineering process,

and five disciplinary core ideas of life

sciences

Developed based on graduate

competency standards and subject

competency standards; learning

process increases in complexity at

each grade level and uses a

scientific process approach

Content—comparison of

curriculum elements

corresponding to scientific

inquiry

Similar (provided in Table 4.6) Similar (provided in Table 4.5)

Content – comparison of

curriculum elements

corresponding to life processes

and living things

Similar (see Table 4.7) Similar (see Table 4.7)

Breath and Difficulty of the

biology materials

deeper/more detail

Somewhat broader yet shallow

Order of teaching (class level

or grade) and when a certain

topic is taught

Grade 9-12

The standards are clearly written, pointed

to the range of grade 9-12

Grade X-XII

The competencies and topics

required are certainly stated and

organized for each grade level

Integration of subjects Clearly seen in the NGSS life science by

checking the “crosscutting concept”

required and the box of “connection to”

There is no crosscutting concept

and the integration of other

subjects into the biology topics in

the 2013 biology curriculum is

stated implicitly, such as some

mathematical calculations and

minimal physics concepts.

Mandatory or Recommended

Time for Subjects

Not mentioned Allocated teaching time is about

3-4 hours meeting per week, each

hour being 45 minutes long.

Compulsion of Teaching

Methods

Wide range of instructional strategies Using various instructional

strategies with a scientific

approach

For the element of structures being compared, the high school IBC 2013 is designed for

grade X-XII or age range of 16-18. The structure of core teaching content (topics) is arranged in

blocked grade (Table 4.2). This means that a group of core teaching content has been assigned

for each grade level. In addition, the spiral structure is applied to the complexities of the core

55

teaching content. Students are taught biology concepts progressing from easy to difficult ones,

and the same content topic may be discussed at different grade levels. Thus, the biology content

is learned based on a scientific approach as described in Table 4.3 below. As mandated in IBC

2013, the biology learning process must emphasize the development of attitude, knowledge, and

skills through scientific methods. The development of those activities was associated with the

Bloom’s taxonomy domain as the indicator to achieve the competencies goals.

Table 4.2: The teaching content structure in block of grade of high school biology curriculum

Grade X*) Grade XI Grade XII

The scope of biology, scientific

methods, and safety work

Cell structure and function Growth and development

Indonesia biodiversity Plant structure and function Enzyme and Metabolism

Virus Vertebrate (animal) structure and

function

Genetic material and substances

Bacteria (Archaebacteria &

Eubacteria)

Movement system of human and

vertebrate

Cell division

Protista Circulation system on human and

animal

Heredity law on Mendell

Fungi (Mushroom) Human digestive system Heredity Patterns and Cross Over

Plant kingdom Respiration system on human and

animal

Heredity in Human

Invertebrate Excretion system on human and

animal

Mutation

Ecosystem/Ecology Nerve and coordination system on

human and animal

Evolution theory

Environmental (climate change &

waste recycle)

Human reproduction system Biotechnology

Immune system *) grade I-VI is 7-12 years old, grade VII-IX is 13-15 years old, and grade X-XII is 16-18 years old

Table 4.3: The details of activities in the biology learning process in the high school biology

document

Attitude Knowledge Skill

Receiving Recalling Observing

Conducting Understanding Questioning

Appreciating Applying Trial and error

Comprehending Analyzing Thinking

Applying Evaluating Presenting

Creating

56

On the other hand, Next Generation Science Standards is explicitly not a curriculum but

does provide a wide number of suggestions about content that should be contained across the

science disciplines and grade. The structures of the NGSS standards are based on three

dimensions: science engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas (DCIs) that describe core ideas

of science disciplines, and crosscutting concepts linked the core ideas concepts to other domains

of science in and across this grade-bands, also the connection with common core standards of

ELA/literacy and mathematics. Aspects of all three dimensions are included in each performance

expectations (PEs). The NGSS standards are organized into grade levels (kindergarten, grade 1-

5) and grade bands (6-8 and 9-12). Grade band 9-12 sets as high school level. Life science (LS)

is one of four domains that are organized in the PEs, which consists of four primary foundation

concepts or disciplinary core ideas (Table 4.4). Moreover, more detail explanation of the DCIs

was explained in corresponding of the scientific inquiry comparison.

Table 4.4: Specific disciplinary core ideas of life science (www.nextgenscience.org)

Grade 9-12

LS1. Structure and

properties from

molecule to organism

LS2. Interactions,

energy, and dynamics

in ecosystem

LS3. Inheritance and

variation of traits

(Heredity)

LS4. Unity and

diversity in biological

evolution

• LS1A Structure and

function

• LS1B Growth and

development of

organisms

• LS1C Organization

for matter and

energy flow in

Organisms

• LS1D Information

processing

• LS2A Interdependent

relationships in

ecosystems

• LS2B Cycles of

matter and energy

transfer in ecosystems

• LS2C Ecosystem,

dynamics,

functioning, and

resilience

• LS2D Social

interactions and

group behavior

• LS3A Inheritance of

traits

• LS3B Variation of

traits

• LS4A Evidence of

common ancestry

• LS4B Natural

selection

• LS4C Adaptation

• LS4D Biodiversity

and human

57

Next is the basic differences of curriculum content related to scientific inquiry between

the IBC 2013 and the NGSS Life Science standards. In IBC 2013, according to Syarif (2015),

scientific inquiry for senior secondary school is an organized learning using a scientific process

approach including observing, questioning, experimenting (including data collection),

associating (using inductive reasoning rather than deductive), and communicating. The IBC 2013

has organized learning descriptions of scientific approach process in Table 4.5. Besides, the

NGSS life science sections include both scientific learning and the engineering processes as

types of inquiry, which has a detailed explanation of performance expectation for each practice.

Also, I added the description of the science-practice (without its differentiation from the

engineering one) to make similar comparison point with IBC 2013, which can be seen in Table

4.6. Based on the analyzing result from two tables provided (Table 4.5 and Table 4.6), the points

of practices that are not expected explicitly in IBC 2013 are developing and using models, and

the use of mathematics and computational thinking in the inquiry processes. On the other hand,

both documents do have similar practices on their scientific inquiry stages.

Table 4.5: Scientific approach steps in the IBC 2013

Scientific Approach Activity Description Learning Expectation Observing Observing with senses (reading,

listening, observing, watching,

etc.) with/without tools.

Attention during observing

objects/ reading article or passage/

listening to explanation; notes

during observing, patience, the

duration during observing

Questioning Proposing questions, answering

questions, discussing topics that

are not understood yet or

additional topics to be known; or

clarifying.

Types, qualities, and number

proposed questions by pupils

(factual, conceptual, or procedural

questions)

Experimenting Exploring, trying and discussing,

demonstrating, imitating

shapes/motions, conducting

experiments, reading resources

other than textbooks; gathering

data from interviewees through

questionnaires; interviewing,

modifying/adding/developing.

Quantity and quality of sources

used in the study,

comprehensiveness of

information, the validity of

gathered information, and

instruments/tools used for

gathering data

58

Scientific Approach Activity Description Learning Expectation Associating Analyzing gathered information

by categorizing, associating or

relating the

phenomena/information to

determine patterns and draw a

conclusion.

Developing interpretation,

argumentation, and conclusion

from the relation of information

generated from two

facts/concepts/theories

Synthesizing and proposing

argumentations, developing

interpretation and conclusion from

information generated from two

facts/concepts/theories/

argumentations that are related or

unrelated from various sources.

Communicating Composing reports in the forms of

charts, diagrams, or graphics;

preparing written reports and

orally presenting reports covering

process, results, and conclusion

Presenting results of the study

(from observing to associating) in

written, graphics, electronic

media, multimedia, etc.

Table 4.6: A summary of scientific inquiry found in the NGSS Life Science Standards

Science Engineering Practices Science Practices

Description

Performance Expectation Grade

9-12 (NGSS Appendix F, 2013

draft) Asking questions (for science) and

defining problems (engineering)

Formulate solvable questions

empirically about phenomena,

establish known information

and determine an unsatisfying

solution

“Asking questions and defining

problems in 9

–12 builds on K–8 experiences and

progresses to formulating, refining,

and evaluating empirically testable

questions and design problems using

models and simulations” (p.4).

Developing and using models Models and simulations are

built and developed to support

explanations and predictions as

well as create and visualize

natural phenomena;

“Modeling in 9–12 builds on K–8

experiences and progresses to using,

synthesizing, and developing models

to predict and show relationships

among variables between systems and

their components in the natural

and designed worlds” (p.6)

.

Planning and carrying out an

investigation

Perform to test the hypothesis

by proposing experimental

design comprising

determinations of dependent

and independent variables,

data collection, and recording

“Planning and carrying out

investigations in 9-12 builds on K-8

experiences and progresses to include

investigations that provide evidence

for and test conceptual, mathematical,

physical, and empirical models” (p.7).

Analyzing and interpreting data The generated data are

analyzed using descriptive

and/or inferential statistics to

“Analyzing data in 9–12 builds on K–

8 experiences and progresses to

introducing more detailed statistical

analysis, the comparison of data sets

Table 4.5. (Cont.)

59

Science Engineering Practices Science Practices

Description

Performance Expectation Grade

9-12 (NGSS Appendix F, 2013

draft) reveal the significance of

patterns in data

for consistency, and the use of models

to generate and analyze data” (p.9).

Using mathematics and

computational thinking

Use to represent and predict

physical variables and their

relationship

“Mathematical and computational

thinking in 9-12 builds on K-8

experiences and progresses to using

algebraic thinking and analysis, a

range of linear and nonlinear

functions…to analyze, represent, and

model data” (p.10)

Constructing explanations Construct by combining the

scientific understanding or

model aligned with the

available evidence to generate

a theory

“Constructing explanations and

designing solutions in 9–12 builds on

K–8 experiences and progresses to

explanations and designs that are

supported by multiple and independent

student-generated sources of evidence

consistent with scientific ideas,

principles, and theories” (p.11).

Engaging in argument from evidence The proposed explanations are

formulated, defended,

communicated, and

collaborated with peers to

generate the best explanations

“Engaging in argument from evidence

in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and

progresses to using appropriate and

sufficient evidence and scientific

reasoning to defend and critique

claims and explanations about the

natural and designed

world(s)…current scientific or

historical episodes in science” (p.13).

Obtaining, analyzing, and

communicating information

The results of investigations

are disseminated to others in

scientific meetings to discuss

and evaluate the validity of the

results

“Obtaining, evaluating, and

communicating information in 9–12

builds on K–8 experiences and

progresses to evaluating the validity

and reliability of the claims, methods,

and designs” (p.15).

On the other hand, the Indonesia senior secondary biology curriculum 2013 is not

integrated as science curriculum that is used as in elementary school and junior secondary

school, yet in general, Indonesia science curriculum for elementary and lower secondary share

similar NOS matrix to the ones in the NGSS standards. Thus, there is no exact Nature of Science

(NOS) reference written in the IBC 2013. However, as a part of science knowledge, biology

Table 4.6. (Cont.)

60

might have the same NOS categories as mentioned in science curriculum for elementary school

provided by Sardinah & Tursinawati (2012) including science as product (knowledge is based on

empirical facts and evidence, science is objective, science products include law, theory, facts,

concepts, and principle, science has an important role in technology, scientific knowledge is

temporary, etc.); science as process (scientific knowledge is temporary, science must be testable,

scientific knowledge based on observation, etc.); and science as attitude (Scientists must be open

to new ideas, scientists are honest, scientists are never satisfied with science knowledge and keep

working on it, etc.). While in the NGSS, NOS is categorized as follow (p. 4 of the NGSS

appendix H):

• Scientific investigations use a variety of methods

• Scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence

• Scientific Knowledge is open to revision in light of new evidence

• Scientific Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories explain natural phenomena

• Scientific knowledge assumes order and consistency in natural systems

• Science is a way of knowing

• Science is a human endeavor

• Science addresses questions about the natural and material world

Moreover, the comparison of curriculum elements discussed is related to life processes

and content focused on living things. The correlation elements found within the NGSS life

science document and the 2013 biology are shown in Table 4.7 as follow (none means the

element does not possess by the other). As shown in Table 4.7, both documents cover majority

similar core ideas of biology/life science discipline. Even though there are some different

emphasis of detail sub-topics covered for each core ideas stated in the documents, there are core

61

ideas that are not covered by each other such as biotechnology (does not include obviously in the

NGSS yet stated precisely in IBC 2013), the different explanation of biodiversity (especially

tropical biodiversity of Indonesia), and Mendel and Hardy-Weinberg's Laws in heredity. In

contrast, the IBC 2013 does not have the core ideas about social interactions and group behavior

in genetics, feedback mechanism maintenance and evidence of common ancestry and diversity.

Table 4.7: The correlation of NGSS core ideas and IBC 2013 content corresponding to life

process and living things

Disciplinary Core Ideas of Life Science—US

Standard (NGSS)

Core materials—Indonesia 2013 biology

curriculum

LS1.A Structure and Function XI-1 (Cell); XII-3 (Genetics materials)

• specialized cells perform the essential functions of life.

• All cells contain genetic information in the form of

DNA molecules

• Multicellular organisms have a hierarchical structural

organization.

• Feedback mechanisms (positive and negative

feedback) maintain a living system’s internal

conditions within certain limits and mediate behaviors.

• Chemical component of cell structure.

• Structure and function of cell components

• Cell activity as a structural and functional unit

of living things:

• Transport through the membrane

• Proteins synthesis to develop morphological

and physiological properties of cells

• Reproduction of cells as an activity to form the

body's morphology and multiply the body

• Gen, DNA, Chromosome

• Protein synthesis and character traits

LS1.B: Growth and Development of Organisms XI-2 (structure and function of plant and animal

tissues); XI-3 to XI-10 (structure and function of

human tissue); XII-1 (the concept of growth and

development); XII-4 (Cell Division)

Mitosis in multicellular organism. • Mitosis

• Meiosis

• Types of plant tissues

• Properties of tissues replication and tissue

culture

• Structure, function and position of animal

tissue

• Tissue structure and function in movement

system: movement mechanism, types,

abnormalities in movement system and

technology to solve the problems

• Tissue structure and function in circulation

system

• Tissue structure and function in digestive

system

• Tissue structure and function in respiration

system

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13165&page=143









62


Standard (NGSS)


curriculum

• Tissue structure and function in excretion

system

• Tissue structure and function in nerve system,

coordination, and psychotropics

• Tissue structure and function in reproduction

system

• Tissue structure and function in immune

system

• Internal and external factors that influence

growth and development of living organism

LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in

Organisms

X-9: Ecology (ecosystem, energy flow,

interaction, biogeochemist cycles); XII-2:

Enzyme and cell metabolism

• The process of photosynthesis.

• The sugar molecules formation into larger molecules.

• Energy flow in living systems.

• Cellular respiration and chemical reactions

• energy flow and material cycles

• biogeochemist cycles

• Enzyme components and mechanism

• Carbohydrate catabolism (aerobic respiration

and fermentation)

• Anabolism (Photosynthesis)

LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems X-9: Ecology (ecosystem, energy flow,

interaction, biogeochemist cycles)

Ecosystems: carrying capacities • interactions in ecosystem

LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in

Ecosystems

X-9: Ecology (ecosystem, energy flow,

interaction, biogeochemist cycles)

• Photosynthesis and cellular respiration

• Food web. matter and energy transfer and conserve.

• the carbon cycles.

• Ecosystem components,

• energy flow and material cycles

• biogeochemist cycles

• interactions in ecosystem

LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience X-10: Environmental change and recycle

• A complex set of interactions within an ecosystem

• Anthropogenic changes (induced by human activity) in

the environment—including habitat destruction,

pollution, introduction of invasive species,

overexploitation, and climate change

• Ecosystem equilibrium (environmental

damage, pollution and preservation)

• Recycle (type and recycling processes)

LS2.D: Social Interactions and Group Behavior Not Mentioned

Group behavior has evolved because membership can

increase the chances of survival for individuals and their

genetic relatives

LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits XII-6: Pattern of heredity link and crossover

DNA and its regulations • The heredity patterns: linkage, crossing-over,

separation failure, and lethal gen

• Heredity in human blood type, gender, and

hereditary disease

LS3.B: Variation of Traits XII-5 (Pattern of traits and Mendel Law); XII-6

(The pattern of heredity linkage and crossing-

over); XII-7 (Heredity in human); XII-8

(mutation: cause and effect)






63


Standard (NGSS)


curriculum

• Mutation as source of genetic variation. Environmental

factors can also cause mutations in genes, and viable

mutations are inherited

• Environmental factors also affect expression of traits,

and hence affect the probability of occurrences of traits

in a population.

• Concepts of allele, gamete, genotype and

phenotype

• Mendel's law and apparent aberration of

Mendel's Law: Interaction issues,

cryptomeria, epistasis / hypostatic,

complementary, polymeric

• The heredity patterns: linkage, crossing-over,

separation failure, and lethal gen

• Heredity in human blood type, gender, and

hereditary disease

• Simulation of mutations

• Simulation of Aberration

LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity Not Mentioned

Genetic information. DNA sequences of different

organisms. Such information is also derivable from the

similarities and differences in amino acid sequences and

from anatomical and embryological evidence.

LS4.B: Natural Selection XII-9 (Evolution)

• Natural selection

• The traits that positively affect survival are more likely to

be reproduced, and thus are more common in the

population.

LS4.C: Adaptation XII-9 (Evolution)

• Evolution

• Natural selection leads to adaptation, that is, to a

population dominated by organisms that are

anatomically, behaviorally, and physiologically well

suited to survive and reproduce in a specific

environment.

• Adaptation also means that the distribution of traits in a

population can change when conditions change.

• Changes in the physical environment.

• Species become extinct because they can no longer

survive and reproduce in their altered environment.

• Darwin's theory of evolution: study Darwin's

phenomenon of evolution through the

phenomena of giraffes, finches and Butlerian

butterflies, linked to the present reality

• The comparison of Darwin’s theory and

theory of intelligent design

• The mechanism of evolution

• Geographic isolation

• Adaptive Radiation

• Hardy-Weinberg's Law

LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans X-1 to X-7

• Biodiversity is increased by the formation of new species

(speciation) and decreased by the loss of species

(extinction).

Humans activity impacts on biodiversity through

overpopulation, overexploitation, habitat destruction,

pollution, introduction of invasive species, and climate

change.

• The scope of biology, scientific methods and

safety, job carrier in biology

• Indonesian (tropical) biodiversity concept,

benefit, taxonomy classification and its

conservation.

• role and characteristics fungi, virus,

archaebacteria, eubacteria, and Protista.

• the morphology, metagenesis and benefit of

seedless and seed plants.

• the characteristic and classification of animal

kingdom: invertebrate and vertebrata

Not Mentioned XII-10 (biotechnology)

• The basic concept of Biotechnology

• Type of Biotechnology

• Conventional Biotechnology (Fermentation)

• Modern Biotechnology (Genetic Engineering)

and Conventional Biotechnology Products

64


Standard (NGSS)


curriculum

• Modern Biotechnology Products

• The impact of utilization of biotechnology

products in the community *HS-LS: High School-Life Science

X-XII: class level

Discussing the breadth and potential difficulty of the biology content found in NGSS and

IBC 2013 in a comparison of curriculum corresponding the scientific inquiry, I assumed that the

biology curriculum 2013 is similar in difficulty to the NGSS life science, yet the NGSS life

science applies mathematical and computational much broader than required one in the biology

curriculum 2013. Thus, relating to the areas of life processes and living things, both documents

are quite similar in difficulty. The NGSS life science is broader in the interdependent

relationship in the ecosystem, yet 2013 biology curriculum is broader in the area of applied

biology (enzyme and biotechnology). Overall, the NGSS life science is similar in content to the

IBC 2013, yet there is a different way in content organization and the addition of nature of

science in their science practices.

Furthermore, in the comparison of teaching order, the IBC 2013 has arranged specific

competencies for each grade (X, XI, XII) and the topics taught are systematically designed in the

syllabus. On the other hand, the NGSS life science presents the topics for high school (9-12) in

general without clearly dividing the topics to each grade. Therefore, there is no order of topic

taught corresponding to the NGSS life science or biology framework of a state. While regarding

the integration of subjects, it is clearly seen in the NGSS life science by looking to the

connection to box that stated information about the connections to other DCIs in this grade-

band, articulation of DCIs across grade-bands, and Common Core State Standards and

ELA/literacy Connections. Yet, there is almost none of the integration across other core ideas of

Table 4.7. (Cont.)

65

discipline into biology topics in the IBC 2013, except mathematical calculation and few science

contents. Thus, in the IBC 2013, biology as one of the interest subjects has allocated 3 hours

meeting for grade X, 4 hours meeting for grade XI and XII per week. Each hour meeting is 45

minutes. On the other hand, there is no specific amount of time written for the NGSS life science

instruction or time allocation per week. Yet, the teaching allocation time is decided by individual

school districts. Lastly, correlating to the compulsion of teaching methods and guidance, the

NGSS life science applies the wide range of instructional practices as the same as the IBC 2013.

In conclusion, the comparison between the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards Life

Science (NGSS-LS) and 2013 Indonesian biology curriculum (IBC 2013) for senior secondary

school was analyzed by some comparison elements. These elements consist of

standard/curriculum structure, content-related to scientific inquiry and life processes and living

things, the breadth and difficulty of biology materials, order of teaching materials, integration of

other disciplines, teaching subject allocation time, and the strategy of the classroom instruction.

Both NGSS-LS standards and the IBC 2013 structure were organized by performance

expectations. Yet, the performance expectation in NGSS-LS is connected to three dimensions of

framework and other ideas within disciplines. In general, NGSS-LS standards and the IBC 2013

have similar elements of comparison, except the difficulty of core ideas materials and the

crosscutting concept which are considered less difficult.

Research Question 2: What Opinions do Indonesian teachers in Aceh Province hold with

respect to the required biology content?

The abundant amount of biology content required to be taught has encouraged me to

gather information on how biology teachers value those content or their perspectives of the

importance of each topic mandated to be taught in the classroom. Based on frequency

distribution result on Table 4.8, more than 40 percent of GSSS biology teachers agreed that

66

biology topics contained in the curriculum are significant to be taught (except for the specialized

cells of a multicellular organism and their functions: circulation topic which was viewed as a

more important topic to be learned). Yet, only a few teachers had a conflicting opinion on these

topics (1.0 to 3.0 percent). To support this finding, descriptions and analysis of six teachers’

opinions to the question—What do you consider an ideal biology curriculum in terms of

representative biology content? ̶ are presented into three perspectives as shown below.

Table 4.8: Frequency (percentage) of GSSS teachers’ perceptions of the importance of biology

topics taught in the curriculum

No. Topics NI (1) LI (2) N (3) I (4) VI (5) No

response TOTAL

1 Genetic materials and

structures (DNA-protein)

2 (0.7) 1 (0.3) 17 (5.9) 129 (45.1) 115 (40.2) 22 (7.7) 286 (100)

2 Hierarchical structure of

multicellular organism:

cell structure and function

2 (0.7) 0 (0.0) 17 (5.9) 139 (48.6) 113 (39.5) 15 (5.2) 286 (100)

3 Structure and function of

plant tissues

1 (0.3) 0 (0.0) 14 (4.9) 141 (49.3) 115 (40.2) 15 (5.2) 286 (100)

4 Structure and function of

animal tissues

1 (0.3) 0 (0.0) 11 (3.8) 139 (48.6) 113 (39.5) 22 (7.7) 286 (100)

5 Specialized cells of

multicellular organism and

their functions: digestion

1 (0.3) 1 (0.3) 9 (3.1) 123 (43.0) 133 (46.5) 19 (6.6) 286 (100)



their functions: circulation

2 (0.7) 2 (0.7) 7 (2.4) 110 (38.5) 144 (50.3) 21 (7.3) 286 (100)



their functions: respiration

2 (0.7) 1 (0.3) 13 (4.5) 125 (43.7) 128 (44.8) 17 (5.9) 286 (100)



their functions: muscle

2 (0.7) 1 (0.3) 10 (3.5) 144 (50.3) 112 (39.2) 17 (5.9) 286 (100)



their functions: excretion

2 (0.7) 1 (0.3) 14 (4.9) 132 (46.2) 120 (42.0) 17 (5.9) 286 (100)



their functions:

reproduction

2 (0.7) 1 (0.3) 10 (3.5) 121 (42.3) 132 (46.2) 20 (7.0) 286 (100)



their functions: nerve

system

2 (0.7) 1 (0.3) 13 (4.5) 125 (43.7) 121 (42.3) 24 (8.4) 286 (100)

12 Growth and development

of living things: basic

concept

2 (0.7) 1 (0.3) 14 (4.9) 126 (44.1) 117 (40.9) 26 (9.1) 286 (100)

13 Metabolism:

Photosynthesis (process of

energy transformation)

2 (0.7) 0 (0.0) 16 (5.6) 134 (46.9) 105 (36.7) 29 (10.1) 286 (100)

67

No. Topics NI (1) LI (2) N (3) I (4) VI (5) No

response TOTAL

14 Metabolism: cellular

respiration (aerobic-

anaerobic)

2 (0.7) 1 (0.3) 13 (4.5) 131 (45.8) 107 (37.4) 32 (11.2) 286 (100)

15 Metabolism: Enzymes 3 (1.0) 1 (0.3) 18 (6.3) 138 (48.3) 87 (30.4) 39 (13.6) 286 (100)

16 Ecosystem: biodiversity 2 (0.7) 1 (0.3) 22 (7.7) 138 (48.3) 81 (28.3) 42 (14.7) 286 (100)

17 Ecosystem: matter cycles

and energy flows

2 (0.7) 1 (0.3) 15 (5.2) 142 (49.7) 91 (31.8) 35 (12.2) 286 (100)

18 Ecosystem: component

and interaction

2 (0.7) 1 (0.3) 18 (6.3) 141 (49.3) 92 (32.2) 32 (11.2) 286 (100)

19 Ecosystem: changes of

physical environment and

waste recycle

2 (0.7) 1 (0.3) 11 (3.8) 141(49.3) 100 (35.0) 31 (10.8) 286 (100)

20 Morphology of plants and

its function

2 (0.7) 0 (0.0) 21 (7.3) 143 (50.0) 91 (31.8) 29 (10.1) 286 (100)

21 Cellular Division: mitosis

and meiosis

0 (0.0) 3 (1.0) 15 (5.2) 135 (47.2) 105 (36.7) 28 (9.8) 286 (100)

22 Mendel law 0 (0.0) 5 (1.7) 18 (6.3) 126 (44.1) 90 (31.5) 47 (16.4) 286 (100)

23 Variation of traits: pattern

of heredity, mutation, and

heredity in human

1 (0.3) 1 (0.3) 15 (5.2) 120 (42.0) 117 (40.9) 32 (11.2) 286 (100)

24 Natural selection and

adaptation

0 (0.0) 0 (0.0) 33 (11.5) 142 (49.7) 77 (26.9) 34 (11.9) 286 (100)

25 Darwin’s theory of

evolution

1 (0.3) 14 (4.9) 37 (12.9) 137 (47.9) 55 (19.2) 42 (14.7) 286 (100)

26 Feedback mechanism

inside the living system:

homeostasis

0 (0.0) 7 (2.4) 24 (8.4) 136 (47.6) 61 (21.3) 58 (20.3) 286 (100)

27 Mendel Pattern and

inheritance

1 (0.3) 1 (0.3) 21 (7.3) 132 (46.2) 97 (33.9) 34 (11.9) 286 (100)

28 Basic concept of

Biotechnology

0 (0.0) 3 (1.0) 17 (5.9) 120 (42.0) 109 (38.1) 37 (12.9) 286 (100)

29 Immune system:

mechanism

0 (0.0) 2 (0.7) 11 (3.8) 138 (48.3) 99 (34.6) 36 (12.6) 286 (100)

30 Role and characteristics of

Invertebrate and vertebrate

0 (0.0) 2 (0.7) 16 (5.6) 151 (52.8) 88 (30.8) 29 (10.1) 286 (100)


Fungi

0 (0.0) 2 (0.7) 20 (7.0) 145 (50.7) 91 (31.8) 28 (9.8) 286 (100)


Protista

0 (0.0) 2 (0.7) 23 (8.0) 145 (50.7) 88 (30.8) 28 (9.8) 286 (100)


Bacteria

0 (0.0) 1 (0.3) 16 (5.6) 143 (50.0) 97 (33.9) 29 (10.1) 286 (100)


virus

0 (0.0) 1 (0.3) 16 (5.6) 141 (49.3) 100 (35.0) 28 (9.8) 286 (100)

The first response from respondents was that “an ideal curriculum should accommodate

local content knowledge and skills’ application (entrepreneurship).” Teacher 1 (TR1), an

experienced teacher from a suburban school close to a beach area, believes that an ideal

Table 4.8. (Cont.)

68

curriculum should cover a wide scope of biology topics related to the local conditions of a

particular area, such as the landscape, the main commodities for economic source, etc. which

could support students’ skills after graduation. For instance, Aceh is a coastal province

surrounded by Indian ocean. So, in its implementation, a biology curriculum should emphasize

ocean biota or seashore’s flora and fauna or marine ecosystem. Therefore, this local content

knowledge might be able to support students’ skills in their daily life especially their

entrepreneurship skills. He knew that the biology content taught in senior secondary schools is

already complicated, yet it needs to switch its learning focus from mastery of the content into

content application. Also, content related to the local conditions should be taught in more detail

than any other core ideas of biology content. This quote makes that case

What I always dream about is a local feature-based curriculum as a secondary

curriculum in addition to the national curriculum..., a curriculum needs to

integrate entrepreneurship. . . students are not only taught to understand the

materials but also to have entrepreneurial skills so that they can apply their

knowledge. (TR1)

The second thought was that a biology curriculum should be designed by biology experts

with fewer amounts of core materials taught in the curriculum. The TR6 believed that educators

or policymakers should reduce the scope of biology materials or simplify the basic competencies

(standards). This thought came out with respect to his religious beliefs as stated in the Holy

Quran about simplification to face living. Besides, this idea is also complimented by TR5 stating

that teachers would not be able to finish teaching all the required materials in a semester.

The ideal curriculum for biology needs to cover more simplified materials. The

basic competence for flora and fauna should be simplified, not too bias. We

should teach simpler flora and fauna first. Sometimes, the syllabus is fine, until (.

. . minute 7:50) third grade. The materials are perfectly organized, but there is

room for simplicity. (TR6)

Actually, there are a lot of materials to teach, such as in grade XI. There are many

sub-topics related to “system” in the second semester so that I do not have time

69

left for other materials. I sometimes gave students assignment to cover those

materials, because there are many sub-topics to teach. (TR5)

According to TR5, the system content ideas, primarily related to digestive system, cover

excessively detailed materials similar to those at the college level. Thus, given that other core

materials thar need to be learned, the material ideas on human and animal body system should be

reduced because students will get more profound knowledge at the university level. Otherwise,

those students, whom will not continue to the university level, are assumed to have adequate

materials coverage (such as the introduction or brief information) of the body system. However,

TR5 could not deprive of the fact that the government has designed a greater curriculum with

stronger assessment element.

Curriculum 2013 is an excellent curriculum, the materials are more organized, the

syllabus has been provided by the government, teachers only need to develop it,

teaching tools can be supported by teaching method. The assessment is also very

good. There is an assessment for affective, cognitive, and psychomotor skills. . .

(TR 5)

Meanwhile, TR3 believes that the Hierarchical Organization of Organisms is not a

relevant topic to be covered by high school student (since it has been taught in middle school), yet

the classification may be important and could be taught as independent core ideas in biology

teaching (to avoid redundant materials to be taught). TR3 statement was also supported by an idea

from TR4, who explicitly expressed that a materials scope should be chosen thoroughly by the

curriculum designer based on students’ acquisition of biology knowledge construction.

Hierarchical Organisation has been discussed in the first grade of junior

secondary school. . . I think Hierarchical Organisation does not need to be taught

in high school. (TR3)

I think Curriculum 2013 is an excellent curriculum, but it can be improved

because there are some materials which are very brief yet very important. (TR4)

Having similar thought—the idea that a biology expert should have been involved in the

2013 curriculum design—TR2 argued that the involvement of experts in designing a biology

70

curriculum is essential. The biology experts are assumed to not only understand the abstract

concepts but more importantly also the practical work in biology teaching and learning processes.

In this case, teachers know that the implementation of inquiry methods in teaching is required, yet

they need more information on the steps of inquiry methods for each topic content.

In my opinion, an ideal curriculum, especially for a biology course, is one

designed by experts in biology, with more lab work or observation. . . If possible,

it is the biology teachers who should design the curriculum, so more lab work can

be included. . . Teachers have a guideline on implementing inquiry, but they do

not have detail instruction for every topic. . . (TR2)

Lastly, another important thought offered was the idea of adequate facilities and

infrastructures to support content teaching process. TR1 and TR3 agreed that the IBC 2013 is

excellent enough in terms of designed and organization and covers adequate biology topics. Yet,

teachers suggested for more infrastructure and facility supports to make the IBC 2013 an ideal

curriculum.

I hope that the government provides more training and competency tests for

teachers so that we do not mislead our students. We do not have a reading culture,

unlike others. Training and competency tests can motivate us to improve our

knowledge, especially about biology. (TR1)

The materials in the syllabus are very good for the students to study both concrete

to abstract concepts. For me, they are great, but the only problem is the

implementation because of limited lab facilities. (TR3)

Research Questions 3: What aspects and with what frequency do Indonesian-Acehnese

teachers teach the various aspects of the Biology Curriculum 2013?

The result of this question was found by calculating the number of responses to whether

the teachers should or should not teach the core materials mandated in the IBC 2013 curriculum.

Indeed, teachers’ opinion and experiences of the challenges and opportunities in implementing

the IBC 2013 were the basic information needed to figure out the teaching aspects that might

influence curriculum implementation.

71

Table 4.9 shows that almost all GSSS teachers reported having taught all the biology

topics listed in the curriculum. Approximately 95.5 percent GSSS biology teachers teach the

hierarchical structure of multicellular organisms, especially cell structures and functions. Yet,

there was a range of 4.5 to 26.6 percent of GSSS teachers who did not teach some topics. Based

on my field note, those topics were not taught because either they did not have enough time or

they were not assigned by the school to teach them. Only a few teachers personally decided to

provide a short overview of some specific topics as they consider them insignificant. In addition,

it is such a compulsory for Indonesian GSSS teachers to implement the curriculum precisely.

Table 4.9: Frequency (percentage) of GSSS teachers’ perceptions of biology topics taught in the

curriculum

No. Topics Taught Not Taught No

response TOTAL

1 Genetic materials and structures (DNA-protein) 261 (91.3) 24 (8.4) 1 (0.3) 286 (100)

2 Hierarchical structure of multicellular organism:


273 (95.5) 13 (4.5) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

3 Structure and function of plant tissues 270 (94.4) 16 (5.6) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

4 Structure and function of animal tissues 261 (91.3) 25 (8.7) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

5 Specialized cells of multicellular organism and


262 (91.6) 24 (8.4) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)



259 (90.6) 27 (9.4) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)



262 (91.6) 24 (8.4) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)



260 (90.9) 26 (9.1) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)



259 (90.6) 27 (9.4) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)


their functions: reproduction

253 (88.5) 33 (11.5) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)


their functions: nerve system

254 (88.8) 32 (11.2) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

12 Growth and development of living things: basic

concept

256 (89.5) 30 (10.5) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

13 Metabolism: Photosynthesis (process of energy

transformation)

248 (86.7) 38 (13.3) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

14 Metabolism: cellular respiration (aerobic-

anaerobic)

245 (85.7) 41 (14.3) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

15 Metabolism: Enzymes 244 (85.3) 42 (14.7) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

16 Ecosystem: biodiversity 236 (82.5) 50 (17.5) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

72

No. Topics Taught Not Taught No

response TOTAL

17 Ecosystem: matter cycles and energy flows 245 (85.7) 40 (14.) 1 (0.3) 286 (100)

18 Ecosystem: component and interaction 250 (87.4) 36 (12.6) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

19 Ecosystem: changes of physical environment and

waste recycle

254 (88.8) 32 (11.2) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

20 Morphology of plants and its function 253 (88.5) 33 (11.5) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

21 Cellular Division: mitosis and meiosis 249 (87.1) 37 (12.9) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

22 Mendel law 235 (82.2) 51 (17.8) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

23 Variation of traits: pattern of heredity. mutation

and heredity in human

245 (85.7) 41 (14.3) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

24 Natural selection and adaptation 238 (83.2) 48 (16.8) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

25 Darwin’s theory of evolution 234 (81.8) 52 (18.2) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

26 Feedback mechanism inside the living system:

homeostasis

209 (73.1) 76 (26.6) 1 (0.3) 286 (100)

27 Mendel Pattern and inheritance 240 (83.9) 46 (16.1) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

28 Basic concept of Biotechnology 239 (83.6) 47 (16.4) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

29 Immune system: mechanism 244 (85.3) 41 (14.3) 1 (0.3) 286 (100)

30 Role and characteristics of Invertebrate and

vertebrate

253 (88.5) 33 (11.5) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

31 Role and characteristics of Fungi 255 (89.2) 30 (10.5) 1 (0.3) 286 (100)

32 Role and characteristics of Protista 251 (87.8) 35 (12.2) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

33 Role and characteristics of Bacteria 259 (90.6) 27 (9.4) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

34 Role and characteristics of virus 259 (90.6) 27 (9.4) 0 (0.0) 286 (100)

Furthermore, to gather more in-depth information of GSSS teachers’ perspectives in

teaching the topics listed in the curriculum, I constructed the interview question: “What are the

challenges/problems and opportunities that you face in teaching any of the curriculum topics?”

and asked a few selected respondents. Based on the thematic analysis, there are several aspects

teachers considered as challenges in teaching. They are listed below.

The first aspect that might influence GSSS biology teachers was related to the

instructional process, especially the assessment. Even though the Ministry of Education has

revised the assessment required, there were still pros and cons among those teachers. A teacher

said since there were various assessments need to be done, some teachers were still confused

Table 4.9. (Cont.)

73

about how to use them correctly. Moreover, teachers need to conduct various teaching models to

stimulate a discussion or to encourage student-centered learning process in the classroom.

Employing varied teaching strategies is essential to evade monotony in learning activities.

Furthermore, the teachers gave their thoughts on their struggle in achieving the learning goals

because of their lack of time to complete all the tasks required. Some expressions are as follows:

The challenge is the complicated assessment. Very few teachers are able to use

the evaluation correctly because the items are abundant and complex. (TR2)

. . . another challenge is related to assessment, i.e. student grade report, which

keeps changing every semester, leaving the teachers confused. (TR5)

Teachers should be creative in using various techniques to avoid boredom. (TR3)

. . . the objectives are difficult to achieve because in this curriculum the students

are encouraged to study in groups. . ., however, the time is not enough to achieve

all purposes. (TR6)

The second aspect concerned the facilities that support the instruction, such as the lack of

training (in the technical implementation of the 2013 curriculum) or the lack of no equal chance

to participate in training due to a limited number of professional developments held.

Furthermore, the schools located in rural area have reduced access to adequate learning facilities,

such as Internet access, or other sources of information.

Another weakness lies in teacher training because not all teachers are given an

opportunity to participate in training. (TR1)

The challenge is that I have not fully understood the curriculum because the lack

of training, and the training given to teachers are not comprehensive, . . . not all

teachers have given a chance to attend the training. (TR4)

. . . when teachers assign the students group work to find materials from the

internet, students do not have internet access because internet café or Wi-Fi is not

available in the area. (TR5)

On the other hand, GSSS biology teachers also gave their views about the ability of the

curriculum implementation to support teaching and learning process, such as to motivate

74

students’ knowledge construction, to improve students’ character, and to improve the assessment

system. Those views are illustrated below:

The evaluation system offered by Curriculum 2013 is very detailed. Concerning

knowledge, there is a written test, spoken test, and assignment with assessment

criteria. . . The same principle also applies to attitude, and there are many aspects

to access. (TR1)

Actually, this curriculum is very good, to improve their character. (TR5)

It is more responsive because it utilizes teaching aid which helps students retain

information better. . . (TR6)

Research Questions 4: What instructional methods are used by these Indonesian-Acehnese


Descriptively shown in Table 4.10, we see that most teachers used all three instructional

methods as their teaching strategies to teach the listed biology topics. The GSSS biology teachers

believed that inquiry teaching strategy should be combined with the direct instruction as shown

by the same number of teachers choosing both strategies for each topic listed. On the other hand,

not all GSSS teachers had extra hours to teach strategies out of the school time as indicated by

the percentage of choices no higher than 26.2 percent (as the highest number of teachers’

perception). This number pointed to the “changes of physical environment and waste recycle”

topic, which might be shown in fieldwork or project homework assigned to students.

Moreover, the GSSS biology teachers were also asked to give additional information

about other instructional strategies that might be conducted to teach those topics listed. Table

4.11 shows the categories of the ideas that came up from the teachers and the examples of their

responses. From the table, many responses stated that teachers did not use other instructional

methods except those three mentioned in the survey question. Yet, some teachers mentioned

precise examples of inquiry-discovery models. Additionally, most of the teachers used

cooperative learning (sociocultural models) in their teaching strategies, which consisted of

75

various kinds of collaboration and cooperation learning models, such as role play, STAD, think-

pair-share, jigsaw, sequence chains, gallery walks, etc. Additionally, constructivist models

(conceptual change) and direct interactive have also been used.

Table 4.10: Frequency (percentage) of the instructional methods reportedly used by GSSS

teachers in teaching the topics

No. Topics Direct

Instruction Inquiry

Extra

Hour

1 Genetic materials and structures (DNA-protein) 232 (81.1) 232 (81.1) 33 (11.5)

2 Hierarchical structure of multicellular organism:


220 (76.9) 220 (76.9) 44 (15.4)

3 Structure and function of plant tissues 223 (78.0) 223 (78.0) 35 (12.2)

4 Structure and function of animal tissues 211 (73.8) 211 (73.8) 37 (12.9)



221 (77.3) 221 (77.3) 38 (13.3)



225 (78.7) 225 (78.7) 43 (15.0)



212 (74.1) 212 (74.1) 39 (13.6)



208 (72.7) 208 (72.7) 41 (14.3)



208 (72.7) 208 (72.7) 36 (12.6)



207 (72.4) 207 (72.4) 33 (11.5)



201 (70.3) 201 (70.3) 40 (14.0)


concept

198 (69.2) 198 (69.2) 74 (25.9)


transformation)

197 (68.9) 197 (68.9) 56 (19.6)


anaerobic)

195 (68.2) 195 (68.2) 44 (15.4)

15 Metabolism: Enzymes 188 (65.7) 188 (65.7) 33 (11.5)

16 Ecosystem: biodiversity 187 (65.4) 187 (65.4) 44 (15.4)

17 Ecosystem: matter cycles and energy flows 190 (66.4) 190 (66.4) 47 (16.4)

18 Ecosystem: component and interaction 200 (69.9) 200 (69.9) 53 (18.5)


waste recycle

189 (66.1) 189 (66.1) 75 (26.2)

20 Morphology of plants and its function 196 (68.5) 196 (68.5) 55 (19.2)

21 Cellular Division: mitosis and meiosis 191 (66.8) 191 (66.8) 39 (13.6)

22 Mendel law 169 (59.1) 169 (59.1) 30 (10.5)

23 Variation of traits: pattern of heredity. mutation.

heredity in human

190 (66.4) 190 (66.4) 47 (16.4)

24 Natural selection and adaptation 185 (64.7) 185 (64.7) 45 (15.7)

76

No. Topics Direct

Instruction Inquiry

Extra

Hour

25 Darwin’s theory of evolution 181 (63.3) 181 (63.3) 32 (11.2)


homeostasis

161 (56.3) 161 (56.3) 23 (8.0)

27 Mendel Pattern and inheritance 184 (64.3) 184 (64.3) 43 (15.0)

28 Basic concept of Biotechnology 181 (63.3) 181 (63.3) 55 (19.2)

29 Immune system: mechanism 183 (64.0) 183 (64.0) 26 (9.1)

30 Role and characteristics of invertebrate and

vertebrate

192 (67.1) 192 (67.1) 44 (15.4)

31 Role and characteristics of Fungi 191 (66.8) 191 (66.8) 58 (20.3)

32 Role and characteristics of Protista 182 (63.6) 182 (63.6) 53 (18.5)

33 Role and characteristics of Bacteria 189 (66.1) 189 (66.1) 49 (17.1)

34 Role and characteristics of virus 191 (66.8) 191 (66.8) 42 (14.7)

Table 4.11: GSSS teachers’ explanation and other teaching strategies (models of science

teaching) used to teach the biology curriculum topics

Theme Sub-Theme Example of Responses Constructivist models of

Instruction

Conceptual change “I use contextual teaching and learning

approach. . .”;

“by giving student personal assignment to

explore and arrange the information in the

form of report. . .”

“I ask students to use concept mapping

model in reading”

“Students are asked to create the miniature

copy of plant and animal cell”

“applying integrative teaching strategy that

correlates a biology topic with other

subjects to make students have deeper

understanding of that topic”

Sociocultural models of

Instruction

Peer collaboration &

Cooperative learning

“In general, I am using those strategies

mentioned (in the questionnaire), but I use

other strategies such as role playing,

student teams achievement division, and

broken circle”

“I use several cooperative learning-based

models”

“. . . blended learning and social media”

Table 4.10. (Cont.)

77

Theme Sub-Theme Example of Responses

“I do not vary teaching models that much,

I ask students to give presentation”

Inquiry models Discovery Learning “I use other teaching strategies because it

will affect the achievement, for instance,

library exploration strategy that activate

students’ creativity and dependence”

“Students are asked to find the information

from the internet and make a laboratory

report”

Teacher-Centered models Direct-Interactive Teaching “I also use technology-based information

to help”

“yes, direct learning using environment-

based strategy”

“I use questioning strategy with electronic

media system”

“Hospital visiting to directly learn the

symptom of several illness and their

treatment”

Not use another teaching

strategy beside as

mentioned as in the

questionnaire

Lecture, Inquiry, Extra time

(outside formal class meeting)

“I don’t use any other strategy because

what those teaching models mentioned (in

the questionnaire) has proven to achieve

the learning goal”

“I don’t use other strategies, but I just mix

one to the others”

“I don’t use other strategies because the

lack of biology hours”

“yes, the teaching strategy used is adjusted

to the basic competency and the learning

goal (the indicator of learning)”

“the teaching strategy used is adjusted to

the students’ learning condition”

The teaching models are not always used

because of the lack of facilities at school”

Table 4.11. (Cont.)

78

Furthermore, to gain more profound thought on instructional strategy, I asked selected

teachers “What essential elements do you think should be present in your instruction or teaching

practice (including assessment) to facilitate students’ knowledge construction?” As their

responses to this question, two ideas that have been extracted include (1) the acquisition of

teachers’ knowledge competencies, which is expected to broaden teachers’ biology

content/knowledge so as to support students in constructing theirs; and (2) the conditions of

learning, which is described as learning tools in the process of knowledge acquisition. The

learning tools or instructional aids include media, laboratory equipment, and other sources. Some

of the teachers’ statement about these views were:

. . . the very important elements for instruction are facilities and teachers’

competence. We should create balance or strategies between personal and

materials as well as the method implemented. (TR1)

I think it is the process, as long as it is a good process, such as when proper media

are involved. In Curriculum 2013, a good process also includes assessment. (TR2)

The most important element for knowledge construction is the first indicator for

each material we teach so that it leads teachers to achieve the objective of

teaching. . . more attentions should be paid to material review for teachers

because the materials that the teachers need to teach are completely different to

what we learned in college. . . (TR3)

If we have a laboratory with complete equipment, most likely about 80% of the

teaching and learning process has been covered. . . (TR4)

The most important element is learning resource, teaching methodology, and

teaching media. For learning resource, teachers may explain the material to the

students but if they do not have learning resource, they will rely on teachers who

become the primary resource. . . (TR5)

They are media and teaching aid. . . (TR6)

79

Research Questions 5: What general perceptions are reported by these Indonesian-

Acehnese teachers regarding the required biology assessment in the Indonesian curriculum

2013 document?

The percentage calculation of the technique used in assessing students’ attitude (Table

4.12) shows that: (1) observations were used ≥ 50 percent in teaching the topics “genetic

materials and structures (DNA-protein) and specialized cells of multicellular organism and their

functions (circulation)” with 50.0% and 52.1% respectively; (2) Self-assessment was used ≥ 50

percent in teaching the topics “genetic materials and structure (DNA-protein), hierarchical

structure of multicellular organism (cell structure and function), and specialized cells of

multicellular organism and their functions (digestion, circulation, respiration, muscle)”; and (3)

Peer observations were used ≤ 50 percent in teaching all the topics listed.

Thus, regarding the students’ knowledge measurement (Table 4.13), more than 60

percent of teachers agreed to use paper tests for the assessment technique, except for the topics

“Mendel’s Law and Feedback mechanism inside the living system: homeostasis,” being selected

58% and 57% respectively. Next, assigning homework was the second vast assessment technique

choices for teachers in measuring students’ knowledge ranging from 40% to 62%. On the other

hand, oral test and portfolios assessment techniques were rarely used by the GSSS teachers,

being chosen less than 45% and 26% respectively.

Moreover, to measure students’ skills (Table 4.14), the GSSS biology teachers preferred

to apply performance-based assessment techniques to both portfolios and projects. The highest

percentage of assessment technique used by teachers for performance, portfolio and projects was

on the topic structure and function of plant tissues and specialized cells of multicellular organism

and their functions (circulation) (55.2%), basic concepts of biotechnology (30.4%), and

ecosystem (changes in physical environment and waste recycle) (25.2%).

80

Table 4.12: Frequency (percentage) of assessment items used by the GSSS teachers to measure

the student’s attitudes in particular topics

No. Topics Observations Self-

assessment

Peer

Observations


2 Hierarchical structure of multicellular organism: cell

structure and function

134 (46.9) 155 (54.2) 97 (33.9)



5 Specialized cells of multicellular organism and their

functions: digestion

133 (46.5) 146 (51.0) 94 (32.9)


functions: circulation

149 (52.1) 152 (53.1) 90 (31.5)


functions: respiration

134 (46.9) 144 (50.3) 88 (30.8)


functions: muscle

138 (48.3) 146 (51.0) 91 (31.8)


functions: excretion

127 (44.4) 142 (49.7) 88 (30.8)


functions: reproduction

135 (47.2) 142 (49.7) 91 (31.8)


functions: nerve system

123 (43.0) 135 (47.2) 85 (29.7)


concept

130 (45.5) 136 (47.6) 81 (28.3)


transformation)

124 (43.4) 127 (44.4) 81 (28.3)

14 Metabolism: cellular respiration (aerobic-anaerobic) 113 (39.5) 134 (46.9) 83 (29.0)






waste recycle

118 (41.3) 142 (49.7) 88 (30.8)



22 Mendel law 91 (31.8) 11 (40.6) 60 (21.0)

23 Variation of traits: pattern of heredity, mutation, and

heredity in human

108 (37.8) 129 (45.1) 74 (25.9)


25 Darwin’s theory of evolution 99 (34.6) 124 (43.4) 72 (25.2)


homeostasis

85 (29.7) 109 (38.1) 58 (20.3)



81

No. Topics Observations Self-

assessment

Peer

Observations



vertebrate

106 (37.1) 134 (46.9) 84 (29.4)





Table 4.13: Frequency (percentage) of the assessment used by the GSSS teachers' perceptions in

teaching the topics to measure the student’s knowledge

No. Topics Paper test Oral Test Homework Portfolio

1 Genetic materials and structures (DNA-

protein)

237 (82.9) 123 (43.0) 176 (61.5) 72 (25.2)

2 Hierarchical structure of multicellular

organism: cell structure and function

227 (79.4) 124 (43.4) 160 (55.9) 72 (25.2)

3 Structure and function of plant tissues 225 (78.7) 121 (42.3) 154 (53.8) 70 (24.5)

4 Structure and function of animal tissues 221 (77.3) 115 (40.2) 152 (53.1) 65 (22.7)



225 (78.7) 126 (44.1) 158 (55.2) 72 (25.2)



227 (79.4) 126 (44.1) 157 (54.9) 68 (23.8)



210 (73.4) 114 (39.9) 153 (53.5) 77 (26.9)



210 (73.4) 118 (41.3) 147 (51.4) 64 (22.4)



207 (72.4) 116 (40.6) 145 (50.7) 66 (23.1)



208 (72.7) 112 (39.2) 142 (49.7) 54 (18.9)



204 (71.3) 106 (37.1) 144 (50.3) 64 (22.4)

12 Growth and development of living things:

basic concept

198 (69.2) 118 (41.3) 140 (49.0) 69 (24.1)


transformation)

197 (68.9) 102 (35.7) 141 (49.3) 61 (21.3)


anaerobic)

190 (66.4) 104 (36.4) 134 (46.9) 60 (21.0)

15 Metabolism: Enzymes 181 (63.3) 110 (38.5) 135 (47.2) 52 (18.2)

16 Ecosystem: biodiversity 180 (62.9) 107 (37.4) 131 (45.8) 51 (17.8)

17 Ecosystem: matter cycles and energy flows 197 (68.9) 101 (35.3) 141 (49.3) 62 (21.7)

Table 4.12. (Cont.)

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No. Topics Paper test Oral Test Homework Portfolio

18 Ecosystem: component and interaction 193 (67.5) 109 (38.1) 128 (44.8) 61 (21.3)

19 Ecosystem: changes of physical environment

and waste recycle

194 (67.8) 106 (37.1) 150 (52.4) 67 (23.4)

20 Morphology of plants and its function 195 (68.2) 114 (39.9) 147 (51.4) 62 (21.7)

21 Cellular Division: mitosis and meiosis 188 (65.7) 104 (36.4) 133 (46.5) 62 (21.7)

22 Mendel law 166 (58.0) 89 (31.1) 119 (41.6) 49 (17.1)

23 Variation of traits: pattern of heredity,

mutation, heredity in human

189 (66.1) 102 (35.7) 141 (49.3) 64 (22.4)

24 Natural selection and adaptation 189 (66.1) 100 (35.0) 123 (43.0) 57 (19.9)

25 Darwin theory of evolution 181 (63.3) 91 (31.8) 123 (43.0) 56 (19.6)


homeostasis

163 (57.0) 84 (29.4) 119 (41.6) 40 (14.0)

27 Mendel Pattern and inheritance 187 (65.4) 98 (34.3) 135 (47.2) 62 (21.7)

28 Basic concept of Biotechnology 181 (63.3) 97 (33.9) 138 (48.3) 66 (23.1)

29 Immune system: mechanism 176 (61.5) 98 (34.3) 117 (40.9) 50 (17.5)


vertebrate

197 (68.9) 111 (38.8) 143 (50.0) 51 (17.8)

31 Role and characteristics of Fungi 198 (69.2) 103 (36.0) 140 (49.0) 57 (19.9)

32 Role and characteristics of Protista 199 (69.6) 102 (35.7) 138 (48.3) 55 (19.2)

33 Role and characteristics of Bacteria 200 (69.9) 99 (34.6) 144 (50.3) 62 (21.7)

34 Role and characteristics of virus 202 (70.6) 106 (37.1) 147 (51.4) 63 (22.0)

Table 4.14: Frequency (percentage) of the assessment used by the GSSS teachers' perceptions in

teaching the topics to measure the student’s skills

No. Topics Performance Portfolio Projects


2 Hierarchical structure of multicellular organism: cell

structure and function

155 (54.2) 86 (30.1) 49 (17.1)




functions: digestion

149 (52.1) 85 (29.7) 43 (15.0)


functions: circulation

158 (55.2) 94 (32.9) 43 (15.0)


functions: respiration

156 (54.5) 79 (27.6) 44 (15.4)


functions: muscle

133 (46.5) 80 (28.0) 41 (14.3)


functions: excretion

147 (51.4) 76 (26.6) 37 (12.9)

Table 4.13. (Cont.)

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No. Topics Performance Portfolio Projects


functions: reproduction

136 (47.6) 65 (22.7) 32 (11.2)


functions: nerve system

142 (49.7) 76 (26.6) 32 (11.2)

12 Growth and development of living things: basic concept 140 (49.0) 79 (27.6) 70 (24.5)


transformation)

140 (49.0) 67 (23.4) 47 (16.4)

14 Metabolism: cellular respiration (aerobic-anaerobic) 129 (45.1) 73 (25.5) 46 (16.1)





19 Ecosystem: changes of physical environment and waste

recycle

137 (47.9) 83 (29.0) 72 (25.2)



22 Mendel law 104 (36.4) 64 (22.4) 22 (7.7)

23 Variation of traits: pattern of heredity, mutation,

heredity in human

123 (43.0) 78 (27.3) 41 (14.3)


25 Darwin theory of evolution 112 (39.2) 62 (21.7) 26 (9.1)


homeostasis

104 (36.4) 50 (17.5) 21 (7.3)




30 Role and characteristics of Invertebrate and vertebrate 137 (47.9) 77 (26.9) 44 (15.4)





Furthermore, teachers’ perceptions regarding the assessment required in the 2013

curriculum are categorized into nine categories as shown in Table 4.15, including the examples

of responses and the number of responses which appeared as the same responses. The most

response to the implementation of the assessment system was “comprehensive,” which is a

Table 4.14. (Cont.)

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relatively positive response because the system has a precise technique in doing a fair evaluation.

However, many teachers said that the required assessment is very complex and complicated, thus

shifting teachers’ focus on teaching to understand and filling up the assessment rubrics. Besides,

a teacher applied the assessment due to the government policy.

Table 4.15: The GSSS teachers’ opinion of the assessment required in the biology Curriculum

2013

Themes Example of Response in the Theme Number of

responses

appeared

Comprehensive (Detail, specific,

clear, objective, systematic, and

complete); measure 3 aspects of

competencies: attitude, knowledge,

and skill

“the assessment includes all required characters

to be assessed which reflect on student’s

attitude, and two other aspects (knowledge and

skill)”

“In curriculum 2013, the assessment

requirement is very detailed because it assesses

each basic competency”

“it helps teachers to have fair evaluation of the

teaching and learning process, especially with

those who prepare all the assessment in the

beginning of semester”

“very precise, because by our measuring the

attitude, learners appreciate their friends and

teachers”

“it is more specific and detailed than previous

curriculum assessment. . . ”

“Assessment is the most crucial part of the

curriculum 2013 that requires teacher to

evaluate students in detail for each competency

aspects”

128

Complicated/ Need to be

simplified

“it is very complicated to do the various

assessments making teacher less focused on

teaching process”

“it is very complex because some teachers still

do not understand and accustomed to it”

“the assessment system is very difficult . . .

especially for school conditioned in the rural

areas. . .”

“there are too many rubrics that need to fill up.

. .”

70

Time consuming “teacher needs extra times to finish the class

assessment, so it is ineffective”

17

85

Themes Example of Response in the Theme Number of

responses

appeared

“teacher cannot assess students’ attitude in

every meeting because of the lack of time”

“there are too many aspects that need to be

assessed, so we need bunch of time to do the

process”

Assessment system is less suitable

for students with lower

competency (or with the wide

range of competency’s gap)

“. . . the assessment is too detailed so it is less

suitable for students with medium-low

competencies of basic knowledge”

3

Interactive/ authentic

“. . ., students become more active, creative,

confident, and improve their skills”

“the assessment creates interactive responses

between teacher and students to be more

cooperative and open. . .”

19

Giving accessibility to evaluate the

problem in the curriculum

implementation

“The assessment is good to figure out the

achievement level of completed class activities,

therefore, we might be able to evaluate the

curriculum and its elements”

1

Lack of socialization of the

assessment system/

professionalism training

“it is good, yet needs to be socialized”

“it is confusing because of our lack of training

in converting grades using alphabet value…”

“some teachers are not ready or confident to

use this assessment system because of their

lack of training”

“there are some teachers who do not get any

professional training to use the curriculum

2013, especially the assessment system”

21

Not using the assessment yet “This assessment system does not apply yet in

my school”

10

Subjective peer assessment “. . ., also, for the peer assessments among

students, sometimes it is not so objective”

1

Less applicable because of the lack

of supporting facilities

“. . . the knowledge aspect of student-centered

teaching strategy is hard to assess since there is

a lack of internet access to find information,

especially for boarding school”

“the assessment will be easier to be

implemented with enough facilities”

6

A government policy “Teachers need to conduct the curriculum

policy. . .”

1

Table 4.15. (Cont.)

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Table 4.16 shows the result categories of the GSSS biology teachers’ responses regarding

the way they integrated character education into the teaching and learning process. There are

several aspects of character education that have been applied including religiosity, honesty,

tolerance, discipline, hard-work, creativity, curiosity, friendliness, sociability and awareness of

environment, and responsibility. Yet, I could not find any responses related to independence,

democracy, nationality, patriotism, appreciation for achievement, and a love of reading.

The table also shows that those characters education have been integrated at different

steps of instructional methods, which consist of engaging, exploring, explaining, elaborating, and

evaluating. Thus, teachers also integrated the character’s education on their co-curricular

activities. At the “engagement” stage (Table 4.16), integrating religious character was the most

frequent opinion shared by teachers on the survey, such as praying before the class begins,

connecting the topic discussed to real phenomena and God’s rules, and etc. In addition,

assimilating the social and environmental awareness into the “engagement” stage was the other

character education that teachers selected.

At the “exploration” step (Table 4.16), teachers inserted the characters of honesty,

tolerance, creativity, curiosity, communicative, love of peace, and responsibility, especially into

instructional activities related to laboratory or field work (e.g., during the observation). Thus, the

GSSS biology teachers also integrated several character educations during the explanation stage

including religiosity, discipline, and responsibility. The integration of character education during

this stage was usually conducted by connecting knowledge and religious teachings, or as

encouragement to follow the teaching process with discipline and responsibility.

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While at the “elaboration” stage (Table 4.6), teachers promoted students’ interest with

their work, creativity, and responsibility as a form of character integration, such as recording the

experiment activities/results and being responsible for it. Then at the “evaluation” stage, teachers

were able to integrate more characters into their instructional methods including religiosity (e.g.

by associating teaching materials with verses of Quran), honesty (e.g. by not cheating during

tests or in doing homework), discipline (e.g. by submitting homework on time), creativity (e.g.

by self-assessment in project presentation), environmental awareness (e.g. by encouraging

students to be concerned about and wise on the environmental problem), and responsibility (e.g.

by assessing students’ responsibility for their works in and out class).

Table 4.16: The GSSS teachers’ perceptions of character education integration in different steps

of instructional

Value Aspect of

Character Education

Steps of Instructional

that is Inserted to the

Character Value

Examples of the Integration Action

Applied

Religiosity Engagement

Connecting God’s rule in the universe to the

overview of the balancing between biotic and

abiotic

Praying before the class instruction started.

Associating the topics with daily life

situation/phenomena;

Framing the topic of genetic engineering to God

as the creator to motivate student’s confidence;

Explanation Encouraging students to praise God during the

concept explanation

Evaluation Giving homework that may content religious

aspect related to the topic; Asking question that

may relate new knowledge to certain

phenomena and religious concepts.

Honesty Exploration Reporting what they have found and see during

the microscope observation.

Evaluation Being honest in doing their homework;

Instruction not to cheat on tests

Tolerance Exploration Guiding students to appreciate others’ opinion

during group discussion;

Appreciating differences in opinions during

class/lab activities.

88

Table 4.16. (Cont.)

Value Aspect of

Character Education



Character Value


Applied

Discipline

Explanation Students’ following the explanation orderly and

obediently

Evaluation Submitting homework/exercise punctually.

Co-Curricular Being able to commit to school programs

regarding the cleanliness

Hard Working Exploration Getting more information to additional

works/practices

Creativity

Exploration Being creative in doing such field work as

making herbariums.

Elaboration Being creative in applying new learning;

Creative and innovative in creating presentation.

Evaluation Project evaluation

Independence Not mention Not mention

Democratic Not mention Not mention

Curiosity (active) Exploration Exploring information; Questioning, lab

activities; being active in discussion.

Elaboration Visiting national agency of food and drug

control to encourage students to be perceptive

and to use the information to select food

consumptions.

Nationality Not mention Not mention

Patriotism Not mention Not mention

Appreciation of achievement Not mention Not mention

Communicative/friendly Exploration Being cooperative in lab experiment.

Peacefulness Exploration Become a good listener and give responses in

good manner.

Love reading Not mention Not mention

Social Awareness Engagement Encouraging students to be more sensitive and

care about their friends.

Environmental Awareness

Engagement Framing environmental awareness indicators in

biodiversity topic.

Evaluation Encouraging students to be concerned about and

wise on the environmental problem;

Encouraging students to keep the environment

clean, e.g. by pointing out what they need to do

with the garbage; Visiting coastal areas and

forests to apply their knowledge in wildlife

conservation and environmental cleanliness;

Students’ applying their knowledge about plant

tissues to generate medicine from the plants at

school.

Co-curricular Giving demonstration and participating in

school gardening as the implementation of class

learning process.

89

Value Aspect of

Character Education



Character Value


Applied

Responsible Explanation Participating in learning process; questions and

giving responses; group discussion.

Elaboration Recording the experiment activities/results;

Making a project and being responsible for it.

Evaluation Assessing students’ responsibility for their

works in and out of class; Being responsible for

providing evidence to the work experiment.

*co-curricular explains as informal activities outside the class instruction

In addition, some tecahers have also stated that they integrated the character education in

non-formal way. Teachers have expanded their strategies of inserting moral or education values,

such as discipline and environmental awareness in the gardening program. Based on the Table

4.16, the most frequent examples given were to the value of “religiosity” and “environmental

awareness”, which may indicate to the value that are most related or applicable to the biology

teaching process. Thus, based on the analysis, the integration of education value at school has

been applied either in formal way (through the instruction steps) or in non-formal way (through

some co-curricular activities).

Table 4.16. (Cont.)

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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION, DISCUSSION, AND IMPLICATIONS

Introduction

The education system in Indonesia defines “curriculum” as a set of plans and

arrangements regarding the objectives, contents, teaching materials, as well as guidelines for the

organization of learning activities to achieve specific educational goals (Badan Nasional Standar

Pendidikan/BSNP, 2006). An idea to produce and implement what might be called an “ideal” or

at least an “intended” model curriculum has influenced the continuous development and changes

of the curriculum in Indonesia. The 2013 Indonesian curriculum (referred to throughout this

study as Curriculum 2013) is the latest iteration of a series of documents that has evolved from

the previous documents which were primarily related to competency-based standards. According

to the Indonesian government, the 2013 curriculum is the answer (or innovation) developed to

improve the ability of Indonesia’s human resources to face the ever-changing world. The

implementation of the Curriculum 2013, of course, involves numerous factors including all of

those associated in education and the supporting factors necessary to achieve reform in education

(Sugiyono et al., 2014). The 2013 document and its implementation with a special examination

of instruction within secondary school biology are the focus of the study concluded in this

chapter.

In Indonesian secondary schools, biology is a section of science focusing on living things

and life processes. Science learning should be accompanied by appropriate teaching methods to

achieve the expected performances or the competency goals (Nuh, 2013). Thus, the Indonesian

Education Ministry required science teaching reformation through an inquiry mode to foster

students’ ability to think, practice, behave, and communicate which are important life skills

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(Syarif, 2015). Therefore, the inclusion of biology in schools (including high schools, Islamic

schools and vocational schools) is expected to provide a direct learning experience through the

use and development of process skills and a proper scientific attitude.

Overview of the Study

In addition to a comparison of the intended biology curricular of the U.S. (NGSS) and

Indonesia (Curriculum 2013), this study was designed to uncover the perceptions held by general

secondary senior high school biology teachers about the application of Curriculum 2013. Their

further opinions of biology topics and the instructional practices in the classroom are offered to

support the conclusions of this study. As data sources, I involved general senior secondary

school (GSSS) biology teachers from 22 districts in the Aceh province who were randomly

selected for participation in the study. This group consisted of teachers from public schools

(n=254) and from private ones (n=32). Also, six of the 286 subjects were selected as a sample of

convenience to have a one-on-one phone interview. A partially mixed concurrent equal status

design of mixed method typology was used to collect the data. The GSSS biology teachers were

surveyed from August-November 2016. The collected data were analyzed descriptively

(resulting in the establishment of frequency and percents) and thematically to address the

research questions.

In this discussion and conclusion chapter, I present the discussion of result findings for

each research question based on the survey analysis from Chapter 4. The summary of interview

results with the detailed transcriptions of six subjects can be found in Appendix E1 (English

version) and E2 (Bahasa version). Additionally, my final thoughts of this study and my

identification of implications for further studies and practices are also presented in this chapter

for each research questions.

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Discussion of Findings

The initial idea of conducting this study was prompted by the interest and thoughtful

discussion about the relatively low rank held by Indonesian students on science achievement in

the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Thus, this seemed an appropriate time

to examine the nature of the biology curriculum and to compare the science standards of the

United States (Next Generation Science Standards) and Indonesian Biology Curriculum (IBC)

2013 in. Furthermore, this investigation was expanded to obtain more information related to the

implementation of the IBC 2013 from biology teachers, especially Acehnese high school

teachers, who are the most immediate interest to me professionally as the crucial factor that

affects a curriculum implementation.

Research Question 1: How does the Indonesian biology Curriculum 2013 content compare

to the related aspects of the U.S. Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)?

Although there is a different definition of the curriculum between the U.S. and

Indonesian contexts, this first research questions addressed the similarities and differences of

several aspects found in the intended standards (NGSS-LS) and intended curriculum (IBC 2013).

To address this question, I considered the basic structure, the science practices, and several

elements to study (see Table 4.1. in Chapter 4 as reference to the summary of elements

comparison). The NGSS-LS standards document is provided in the next generation science

standards website, while the documents related to the Indonesian Curriculum 2013 biology

documents can be requested from the Ministry of National Education and Culture of Indonesia,

which unfortunately does not provide an English version. This added considerable time in

making the comparison. It is useful to state that the comparison between the NGSS-LS and IBC

2013 was about the intended standards and the intended curriculum. There was no plan to

compare the enacted curriculum from both countries, although I did discover some of this

93

information for the Aceh/Indonesian context in addressing other research questions. In general,

the intended standards (NGSS-LS) website provides information about the standards (read the

standards, appendices, understanding the standards, and developing the standards), instruction

and assessments (evaluating instructional materials, instruction and assessment supports) and

planning and communication (state and district implementation, communicating about the

standards, video hub, and resource library). While in the intended curriculum (IBC 2013), the

curriculum module guideline document provides information about the concepts of curriculum

2013 (rationale, objectives, standards, the regulation laws, introduction of learning approach and

assessment), guideline of teachers and students textbooks, the design of learning and assessment,

learning formats, and assessment rubrics. I also use the competencies (core and basic) and

syllabus documents that are provided separately.

The comparison in the study has been based on the similar content information that can

be compared between the intended standards (NGSS-LS) and the intended curriculum (IBC

2013). It is worthy noting that the parts from both documents may have different names yet

provide similar context and content information. Therefore, I emphasized the comparison

analysis to the similar information provided and ignoring the terms used.

Comparison of the Basic Structure

The NGSS-LS standards and IBC 2013 are two different documents each having its own

structures. Basic structure is defined as how a standard or a curriculum is built/organized. In

general, high school curriculum structure in Indonesia is the application of content organization

in the learning system (Sunendar, 2014). Since I am using the IBC 2013’s syllabus (which are

provided by the Ministry of Education) as the structure to be compared to the NGSS standards,

the structure of the IBC 2013 is defined as the organization of learning contents and processes

94

arranged by the basic competencies according to graduation competency standards and content

standards. On the other hand, the NGSS-LS standards are organized by basic competencies

(Bybee, 2012). Based on the analysis result, it might be said that the IBC 2013 contains those

aspects that are included in the NGSS-LS standards, except for the connection to core ideas of

other disciplines (see Figures 5.1 and 5.2 component that are provided with the detailed

information as the example).

Figures 5.1 and 5.2 describe how the elements of the IBC 2013 and the three dimensions

of the standards are arranged. The similarities to the NGSS structure include: (1) performance

expectations that are similar to core competency and basic competency in the IBC 2013; (2)

science and engineering practices that are similar to the skills learning process in the IBC 2013;

(3) disciplinary core ideas that are similar to material subtopics in the IBC 2013;

95

Figure 5.1: The structure of syllabus for IBC 2013 (translated) of the cell structure and function.

96

Figure 5.2: The example of NGSS-LS system architecture for HS-LS1A: Structure and Function

97

Comparison of the Content – Corresponding to the core ideas (teaching materials)

Based on the data, it seems that the most noticeable difference in the structure of the the

intended standards NGSS-LS and the intended curriculum IBC 2013 is the arrangement of the

specific core ideas, which are shown in the blocked topics (group of core ideas that have been

included in the syllabus, see Table 4.2) of grade levels for IBC 2013 and specific core ideas

found in the NGSS-LS standards. In the IBC 2013, the material topics have been arranged based

on core competencies (capabilities to be attained after learning process) and basic competencies

(skills built during the learning process) that have been set by the government through the

Ministry of Education and Culture (MoEC). The arrangement of essential topics in the IBC 2013,

progressing from concrete and easy to abstract and difficult concepts was based on content

standard criteria set by the Badan Nasional Standar Profesi (National Professional Certification

Authority) for high school students, such as students’ cognitive and mental development stages,

qualifications of Indonesian competence, and graduation competence level. In the NGSS-LS

structure, the arrangement of core ideas is based on specific criteria stated by NRC (2012) for K-

12, including: (1) a core idea that should be the main principle of single discipline or have wide-

ranging significance across multiple science/engineering disciplines; (2) a core idea that should

offer a key tool to understand or explore more complex ideas; (3) a core idea that should concern

on students’ life interest and social experiences and relate their interest to scientific/technological

knowledge; (4) a core idea that should be able to be taught and learned by over several grade

levels.

Generally, although biology concepts taught in the United States and Indonesia are

similar, they are different in the depth of content and difficulty. For instance, the NGSS-LS core

ideas of LS4 (biological evolution) cover empirical evidence at different scales and provide

98

evidence for causality in explanations of common ancestry and biological evolution, such as the

discussion of the evolution process through the relationship between phenotypic variation and

survivorship by analyzing beak size among the Galapagos Island finches, modeling industrial

melanism among peppered moths, and observation of adaptations in chimpanzees’ use of twigs

to capture termites or sea otters’ use of rocks to open shellfish. On the other hand, in the IBC

2013, the scope of evolution is only focused on Darwin’s evolution theory using images of

giraffes, finches, and peppered butterflies, along with the evolution process through geographic

isolation. The content assortment for one core idea in the NGSS-LS is decided in accordance

with the focus of the NRC’s concept in discovering more profound and meaningful important

concepts. The number of core ideas included in the NGSS standards was purposely set to avoid

the scope of topics that cannot be connected to other disciplines or subjects, mainly those in the

common core standards (Bybee, 2012; NRC, 2012; NGSS Lead States, 2013; Pruitt, 2014).

Moreover, the set of core ideas in Grades 9-12 is the content progression (students’

sophistication thinking) from K-2, 3-5, and 6-8, as opposed to Indonesian science curriculum,

which has yet to notice the essence of a learning continuum (according to the age of learners and

directed to the maximal achievement of every competency in each stage) in material possessions

as found in the digestive system concept (Situmorang, 2016). I assumed that the similarity found

in biology core ideas taught was a result from the efforts of both the United States and the

Republic of Indonesia to develop science instruction that would fit their national and

international scopes. Stacey et al., (2018) found that the intended science topics in curricula are

becoming similar across countries due to the influence of the international examination outcomes

of PISA for science education reformation (Çil & Çepni, 2014).

99

Based on Table 4.7, several materials that are different in both the standard and the

curriculum are: (1) in the NGSS-LS, there is a feedback mechanism (positive or negative) inside

the living system, such as heart rate response to exercise, stomate response to moisture and

temperature, and root development in response to water levels; whereas in biology Curriculum

2013 only a brief explanation of homeostasis mechanism on urine production (specialized cells

of multicellular organism and their functions: excretion) is found; (2) in the NGSS-LS, the

assessment does not include the biochemistry of protein synthesis, while in the IBC 2013 the

discussion on protein synthesis includes the explanation of biochemistry level; (3) in the NGSS-

LS, there is a core idea related to the use of mathematical and/or computational representations

to support explanations of factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales,

while in the IBC 2013 it is non-existent; (3) there is a discussion of how to design, evaluate, and

refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and

biodiversity in the NGSS-LS but not in biology curriculum 2013; (4) in the NGSS-LS, social

interaction and group behavior put more focus on the survival of genetic inheritance, while in the

biology curriculum 2013 different types of interactions (intraspecific and interspecific) and their

examples are provided; (5) there is a discussion about Evidence of Common Ancestry and

Diversity in the NGSS-LS, yet it is not present in the IBC 2013; (6) there is discussion on the

basic conventional and modern biotechnologies and their application and products in the IBC

2013, but none in the NGSS-LS.

The core ideas differences found between both intended standards NGSS-LS and

intended curriculum IBC 2013 are considered to the nature of the documents. In the NGSS-LS

standards outlined, the basic knowledge that every student graduating from high school should

know. Some of advanced topics would be covered in other biology courses offered by schools

100

that go beyond the basics. Also, some of these topics could be assumed to be embedded within

performance expectations, even though they are not specifically stated. Whereas, in the IBC

curriculum outline, advanced core ideas could be offered in the textbook or through teachers‘

lesson plan design or teaching materials.

Comparison of the Content – Corresponding to the scientific inquiry

In terms of scientific inquiry, both documents have described similar practices in their

scientific inquiry stages. This analysis result is supported by what has been found by Haridza and

Irving (2017) who signified that the science curriculum design and decision making in Indonesia

and the U.S. are influenced by similar thoughts of the process of science learning, emphasizing

concepts of discovery from students’ experiences through inquiry and problem-solving

strategies. The scientific approach used in IBC 2013 includes observing, questioning,

experimenting, associating, and communicating. By contrast, the NGSS scientific approach

consists of asking questions, developing and using models, planning and carrying out

investigations, analyzing and interpreting data, using mathematics and computational thinking,

constructing explanations, engaging in argument from evidence, as well as obtaining, evaluating,

and communicating information (NRC, 2012; Ford, 2015). Although the intended standards

NGSS-LS and the intended curriculum IBC 2013 stated different numbers of inquiry steps, their

scientific practices express the same aspects; the use of observing and questioning (in IBC 2013),

which is described as “asking a question that arises from careful observation of phenomena” in

the NGSS (the NGSS Lead States, 2013, Appendix F, p.4). Yet, the IBC 2013 curriculum does

not apply a sophisticated range of mathematics and computational thinking, such as the

trigonometric functions, exponentials and logarithms, as well as computational tool in the NGSS

practices. Besides, there is no engineering practices written in the IBC 2013.

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Furthermore, as the central intersection of the three dimensions (the scientific and

engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts) of the NGSS standards,

the matrix of nature of science (“Scientific investigations use a variety of methods; Scientific

knowledge is based on empirical evidence; Scientific knowledge is open to revision in light of

new evidence; Scientific models, laws, mechanisms, and theories explain natural phenomena;

Science is a way of knowing; Scientific knowledge assumes an order and consistency in natural

systems; Science is a human endeavor; and Science addresses questions about the natural and

material world”, NGSS Lead Sates, 2013, Appendix H, p.4) has been associated with the practice

and crosscutting concept. At this point, students have to reflect (what they have done and why) to

understand the whole picture of scientific knowledge from their science practices. In contrast,

there is no detailed information regarding the nature of science in the IBC 2013, although it can

be found in the junior secondary science curriculum of the NGSS.

Comparison of Other Components

In terms of teaching order, biology teachers in Indonesia are required teach topics that

have been systematically designed in the curriculum to reach the required basic competency

expectation. Yet, they need to design their own indicators (measurable markers) when designing

a lesson plan and must follow the order of the topics within the topic group assigned in the

syllabus (see Table 4.2 for the group of biology topics assigned for each grade level). On the

other hand, since the NGSS life science is a standard, it presents the core ideas for high school

(9-12) without clear topic division across grades since it is specifically unlinked to the

curriculum or instruction plan. Therefore, there is no order to teach topics according to the NGSS

life science or biology framework of a state, as written in the NGSS Lead States (2013):

“The Next Generation Science Standards are student outcomes and are explicitly

NOT curriculum. Even though within each NGSS performance expectation

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Scientific and Engineering Practices (SEP) are partnered with a particular

Disciplinary Core Idea (DCI) and Crosscutting Concept (CC), these intersections

do not predetermine how the three are linked in the curriculum, units, lessons, or

instruction; they simply clarify the expectations of what students will know and be

able to do by the end of the grade or grade band. Though considering where

Performance Expectations (PEs) will be addressed within courses is an important

step in curriculum development, additional work will be needed to create coherent

instructional programs that help students achieve these standards” (p. 5).

Regarding the integration of subjects, the NGSS provided clear information in the

connection box since it is important to build coherent connections between science as a

quantitative discipline to students’ learning in mathematics (Common Core State Standards

connections) (the NGSS Lead States, 2013). The mathematics concepts such as statistics and

probability, algebra technique, ratios, unit conversions, etc., are applied in the NGSS-LS.

Besides, the connection to the ELA/literacy standards is important in developing knowledge in

science by providing connections between literacy key points and specific content in the NGSS

outline (the NGSS Lead States, 2013). On the other hand, the integration of mathematical and

other science content is not arranged in a specific table yet can be found in the learning process

stated in the syllabus. For instance, in the heritance pattern of the Mendellian law material,

students will determine the genotype and phenotype ratios of F1 and F2 using chessboard or fork

systems; whereas in literacy, students are required to communicate what they have learned in the

classroom.

In accordance with the comparison element of “teaching time allocation and the

compulsion of teaching methods and guidance”, the intended curriculum IBC 2013 has provided

this information detail inside the syllabus, while the intended standards NGSS-LS does not

prescribe this information.

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Conclusion Thought for the Comparison

The literature study presented here sought to address what might be connected between

the intended standards NGSS-LS and the intended curriculum IBC 2013 that have been designed

and written with great effort to improve science education reformation in both countries, the

United States and the Republic of Indonesia. Coincidentally, both documents were designed in

2013, and were triggered by the students’ low achievement rank in science and math in PISA and

TIMSS reports (OECD, 2014). In addition, the Indonesia Ministry of Education and Culture

(2014) stated that the low achievement was caused by the mismatch between what has been

tested internationally and what has been taught to Indonesian students. The international test

results, which may reflect how pupils are taught and learned in both countries, also indirectly

reflected the achievement of the national curriculum/standard from these countries. Since the

elements of comparison used are adapted from a study conducted by Ruddock & Sainsbury

(2008), the comparison between the NGSS-LS and the IBC 2013 looked into components that

are similar in both countries, components that might be presented in the NGSS-LS standard but

not in the IBC 2013 or vice-versa, as well as components that might be judged “narrower,”

“broader,” “easier,” or “harder”.

The main challenges found in the study include the difficulty in assessing each element

for comparison. For instance, when an element was marked “similar,” it does not necessarily

mean that it provided identical points of comparison. In addition, some elements were not

presented clearly and difficult to find. Thus, the adjustment to another possible information

gathered in the documents was necessary to answer the research question. For instance, in

comparing the basic structures, it was almost impossible to find similarities between two

different types of documents (a curriculum and a standard) since both countries have their own

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terms for curriculum. Yet, by understanding the documents and reading intensely, I have found

that the NGSS-LS contain the same elements as the IBC 2013. This conclusion is consistent with

Stacey et al. (2018) who signified that all countries included in the study had changed their

intended curricula especially by adding science topics in response to the TIMSS curriculum

questionnaire. Furthermore, the NGSS-LS provides more explicit and detailed information, such

as the instruction and assessment support (samples of classroom tasks) for their teachers to

develop a science curriculum at their school states. In brief, I have addressed the answer to the

research question based on detailed information analyzed and presented in Chapter 4.

Practical Recommendations

The comparison between the intended standards NGSS-LS and the intended curriculum

IBC 2013 has shown that those standards and curriculum have been contextually designed in

each country. Technically, there are no significant parts of the IBC 2013 curriculum that need to

be changed or developed. However, there are some suggestions that can be considered by the

Indonesian government, particularly, the Ministry of National Education to idealize the IBC

2013 curriculum as follows:

• In syllabus composition, as an educator, I would like to suggest two concept separations

on each topic, namely basic concepts and applied concepts. In the current curriculum both

concepts are combined, and in some topics, they lack the applied concepts. To exemplify,

in the syllabus for topic of viruses, for the basic concepts, students are introduced to the

structure and morphological features of viruses completed with core concepts, lesson plan,

assessment, time allocation, and references. The same topic is then developed for its

applied concept. In this case, students are required to learn about viral replications, viral

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infections, diseases caused by viral infections, the treatment for viral infections and other

applied scientific inquiries or approaches.

• It is important to integrate appropriate nature of science in the biology curriculum that is

separately designed from Science subjects.

Areas for Further Study

To seek significant differences of both curricula (the NGSS-LS and IBC 2013), lesson

plan analysis can be performed to examine particularly the similar core ideas or teaching material

in terms of scientific practices (i.e. types of applied inquiries), applied scientific approaches, and

to seek the strengths and weaknesses of the scientific methods implemented in the learning

process. Besides, the connection between the implementation of both intended and enacted

curricula can be also further analyzed.

Research Question 2: What Opinions do Indonesian teachers in Aceh Province hold with

respect to the required biology content?

The core ideas of biology content selected to be taught in senior secondary high schools

are based on the content standards written as Permendikbud (the Act of National Education and

Culture Ministry No. 21, Year 2016) (Badan Nasional Standar Pendidikan, 2018). Thus,

Indonesian biology teachers are required to teach the aforementioned essential topics (i.e., the

intended content) and most of them believed that all the core ideas are important (refer to Table

4.8).

Yet, interestingly, I found valuable thoughts (while doing data collection process) from

few senior teachers (who have been teaching biology for more than 15 years) who stated that

some biology topics do not need to be taught in depth for high school students due to several

reasons:

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• Students must work hard to learn many topics in the span of three years of school time,

and they will learn them again in an advanced science program at the university level.

• Other option is to give students the opportunity to learn basic knowledge in junior high

schools without repeating the content in senior high schools, thus reducing the subtopics

that high school students must learn.

• Some biology topics (see Tables 4.2 and 4.7), such as the observation of the tissue

structure in movement (the observation of the effect of physiological salts to muscles in

femurs and heart of frogs) and excretion system (the observation of nephron structure),

require advanced laboratory work and seem impossible to be conducted in most school

laboratory facilities in Aceh province. Teachers believed that students should not learn

science facts abstractly, but rather through hands-on experiences. In addition, advanced

laboratory work will require certain skill level from teachers themselves, the equipment,

the use of technology and time, which most schools and teachers in Aceh province cannot

afford.

If we refer to the Table 4.8, many biology topics (more than 40% of the subjects) are

related to specialized cells of a multicellular organism and their functions in human organ

systems. Due to this fact, I have several perspectives that might drive teachers decisions to value

each biology topic: (1) teachers who consider these topics very important will teach those topics

longer than allocation portion required; (2) based on the syllabus, these topics have more basic

competencies to achieve (9-10 basic competencies) than other topics (approximately 7 basic

competencies); (3) the human organ systems are the topics that are closely related to human body

functions, which are considered to be interesting and useful to learn; (4) its abundant teaching

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materials and its arguably abstract content (Fajar, 2016) have positioned the organ systems as

difficult topics to learn.

Furthermore, the subjects in the study were teachers whom had at least five years of

teaching experiences and were willing to be interviewed. The first response from them was that

“an ideal curriculum should accommodate local content knowledge and skills’ application

(entrepreneurship).” The utilization of local sites in learning biology has been shown by

Situmorang (2018) and Mumpuni (2013), who stated that the availability of learning objects in

the forms of local potentials is expected to invite learners to be exposed to many phenomena and

facts unique to their regions through understanding the concept of teaching materials. Although

their studies did not directly point to the idea of an ideal curriculum, the findings have shown the

possibility of similar ideas that Indonesian biology teachers might have about biology curriculum

content. The second thought was the idea that a biology curriculum should be designed by not

only biology experts but also practitioners who understand the real conditions of the teaching

process. Lastly, a critical thought was the idea of adequate facilities and infrastructures to

support the teaching content process.

In conclusion, there are several factors that might affect teachers’ valuing the required

biology core ideas required to teach. For instance, the amount of teaching experiences has given

advantages for teachers to know the relative necessity of such knowledge to support contextual

learning in understanding phenomena and the characteristics of knowledge and skills possibly

tested in the national examination.


Based on Table 4.8 the ranks of very important biology topics are: (1) specialized cells of

multicellular organism and their functions: circulation, (2) specialized cells of multicellular

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organism and their functions: reproduction, (3) specialized cells of multicellular organism and

their functions: respiration, (4) specialized cells of multicellular organism and their functions:

excretion, and (5) specialized cells of multicellular organism and their functions: nerve system.

The five very important topics selected were about human physiology and function, which are

such “abstract” concepts that are difficult concepts to be explained. Therefore, I suggest to the

Indonesia Ministry or Aceh province National Education Bureau to provide continuing

knowledge training towards those concepts and conducted thoroughly (using efficient and low-

cost budget strategy) to all teachers in 23 districts in Aceh Province. To support professional

development (PD) of the human physiology and function concepts materials, a specific

scientific-based workshop can be designed to enrich biology teachers’ skills in doing laboratory

works at schools. The workshop designed can be collaborated with the scientific experts of this

knowledge area or specialist doctors who are the expert in human anatomy and physiology.

To accommodate Indonesia-Acehnese biology teachers’ ideas to teach biology classroom

with local contents, the National Education agency of Aceh province can design learning media

in the form of students’ worksheets or textbooks that can be distributed to all schools in Aceh

province. Those students’ worksheets or textbooks could be designed by and for teachers from

23 districts of Aceh or designed by biology educators from schools or universities in Aceh

province. In addition, to avoid redundant learning content and laboratory activities, for instance,

the laboratory work of proofing photosynthesis process on plants, the National Education agency

can mandate teachers to write different indicators for that topic for middle school and high

school classroom activities. The government can conduct a workshop to help teachers in

designing various laboratory practices and share the information with all teachers in the Aceh

districts.

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Conducting further survey research through a phone call by asking the detail reason of

their perspective on the importance of the biology topics taught can enrich the finding of this

research question. Also, further data analysis using non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test to

determine significant differences of the perceptions related to the length of teaching experiences,

the gender, or school locations, or the latest school levels graduated can also conduct to expand

the result findings. For example, do more experienced teachers teach a certain topic more than

novice teachers, etc.

Research Questions 3: What aspects of the Biology Curriculum 2013 do Indonesian-

Acehnese teachers teach and to what extent do they teach them?

More than 80% of the total teachers in this study said that they had taught all the 34

topics asked in the survey form or required by the IBC 2013 (presented in Table 4.9). Yet, there

is not much information to support the discussion of this finding. However, by analyzing the

curriculum documents, it was found that there are two significant reasons as to why the biology

teachers decided to teach the mandatory biology topics; (1) as educators, they are responsible for

reporting the learning outcomes to school, parents, and national education agency (in the forms

of outcome competency report/LCK), and (2) to get their professional incentives, their

performance will be assessed (through teacher performance evaluation or PKG).

LCK is an illustration of learners’ competence achievement in every semester, which

consists of the assessment of knowledge, skills, and attitude (Syarif, 2015). The procedure and

important criteria to fill out this LCK are explained in the curriculum document. On the other

hand, PKG is defined as the assessment of all main tasks of a teacher used primarily to foster

their career, rank, and position as stated in the Regulation of the State Minister of Administrative

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Reform and Bureaucracy Reform No. 16 Year 2009 and the Regulation of the Minister of

National Education No. 16 Year 2007 regarding Academic Qualification Standards and Teacher

Competencies (Suadinmath, 2014; MoEC, 2012a). Thus, the aspects that are assessed from

teachers include their pedagogy, personality, as well as their social and professional

development. In pedagogy competency, the elements that are graded include the quality of the

teaching-learning process and the suitability of teaching materials to the curriculum requirement.

Based on the interview analysis, there are several challenges faced in teaching biology

topics, including the various assessments that need to be done, the need to conduct various

teaching models to engage the students in learning activities, and the lack of facilities to support

instruction due to the geographical limitation. The aspects related to assessment and teaching

models will be discussed in the following research questions. One study has found similar

challenges in the implementation of 2013 Curriculum, such as the lack of understanding of

scientific learning approach, the need of accompaniment of a mentor during the instruction, the

need of professional development in the application of attractive and innovative teaching

strategies and assessment, and the need of teachers’ and local government’s mindset change to

give full support to the curriculum implementation (Kastawi et al., 2017).

In brief, as has been discussed, teachers have stated that they have taught all the topics

required in the curriculum 2013 due to their obligation to provide students’ learning evaluation

as a part of schooling and the education system and to match their work to what is required in the

curriculum as mandated in pedagogical competency. School headmasters or a person in charge of

National Education Bureau perform teachers’ performance evaluation. In addition, I also believe

that some teachers must have taught those biology topics as a moral obligation to provide

adequate knowledge to their students.

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Considering the interview result of challenges and opportunities teachers faced, the

National Education Bureau of Aceh province can provide long days workshop (3-5 days) for

representative groups of teachers from 23 districts to design appropriate assessment for 2-3

instructional models for all topics required in the IBC 2013. Thus, the result can be shared in the

teachers meeting forum in each district. Thus, the problems analyzed from the interview result

including assessment, instructional methods, and PD can be solved.


Collecting teachers sets of lesson plans from the subjects of this study, which include

teachers’ yearly and semester timeline plan, teaching plans, assessment documents (rubric, the

paper test, etc) can be used to validate their survey opinion related to evidence of topics taught.

Thus, those documents can also be used to identify the possible challenges faced by teachers

during the instructional process.

Research Questions 4: What instructional methods are used by these Indonesian-Acehnese


The majority of GSSS biology teachers believed that they had used a number of teaching

models in their instructional strategies (refer to Table 4.10 and Table 4.11), especially those

suggested in the Curriculum 2013 (discovery learning, project-based learning, problem-based

learning, and inquiry learning). The GSSS biology teachers preferred to use student-centered

teaching models such as discussion and active learning (role-playing, concept mapping, student

teams’ achievement division, think-pair-share, blended learning, etc.). Their choices in selecting

teaching models have reflected the principles of biology learning process in the IBC 2013, which

emphasize that learners figure out the knowledge rather than being informed; that a teacher is not

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the only source of learning; and a shift from textual approach of learning into a process approach

to support the use of scientific methods (Syarif, 2015).

Other factors leading to teachers’ selection of “direct instruction” as the instruction

strategy, according to Zahriani (2014) and National Research Council (2011), are: (1) although it

is not a one way knowledge transfer, the teacher is the main sources of information; (2) direct

instruction adopts systematic and straightforward instruction steps; (3) direct instruction is an

effective way to develop students’ skills in taking notes and summarizing; (4) as direct

instruction is teacher-centered, teachers are not only a great model of the learning process, but

also capable of giving reinforcement and feedback to students. For science learning, direct

instruction can be used to demonstrate the skills or conceptual and procedural knowledge when

addressing demanding teaching materials (Zahriani, 2014).

Furthermore, Indonesian-Acehnese biology teachers have also employed “inquiry” as

their teaching strategy. This selection is in line with the teaching strategy required in the

curriculum that emphasizes the use of scientific and process skill approaches in teaching

strategy. Students can benefit from the use of the scientific approach to science teaching since it

stimulates their critical thinking, encourages observation, pushes for analysis and requires

communication (Syarif, 2015). Therefore, the scientific inquiry in science teaching strategy

consists of basic process skills (observing, measuring, concluding, predicting, classifying, and

communicating) and integrated process skills (controlling variables, interpreting data,

formulating a hypothesis, defining operational variables, and designing an experiment).

Regarding important elements in facilitating students’ knowledge construction, the

subjects explained how the teachers’ competency played an important role in constructing

students’ knowledge. The MoEC (2012a) listed four components of teachers’ competency (see

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Table 5.1). Therefore, one way to assess teachers’ competency is by viewing their skills in

developing learning indicators to achieve learning objectives. According to Syarif (2015),

learning indicators function as a guideline for teachers in developing teaching materials,

designing learning activities, developing learning sources (such as textbooks, student

worksheets, and media), and designing and conducting an assessment in the classroom. Thus, it

was clear from the interview results that beside educational facilities, teacher’s competence in

students’ ability to construct their own knowledge is also essential to consider. He/she also added

that the balancing strategies of the biology materials and the choice of teaching method would

also serve this purpose. In addition, a study by Sudarisman (2015) has found that some strategies

to support the acquisition of teachers’ competencies through the educational institution may

include reinforcing pre-service biology teacher’s knowledge in the nature and characteristics of

biology learning and developing academic situations for prospective biology teachers in biology

knowledge and skills as well the role of biology education in the future. At this point, teachers’

knowledge development is needed to assist students in gaining information.

Table 5.1: Components of teachers’ competencies

No Subjects Teachers’ Competencies

1 Pedagogy

Knowing the students’ characteristics

Mastering the learning theories and learning principles and concepts

Developing curriculum

Developing students’ potentials

Maintaining good communication with students

Assessing and evaluating

2 Personalities

Behaving in accordance with religious, legal, social and cultural norms

Modeling mature and exemplary personalities

Possessing work ethics, responsibility, and pride as a teacher

3 Social

Being inclusive, objective, and indiscriminative

Maintaining excellent communication with colleagues, staff, students’ parents, and communities

4 Professionalism

Mastering the teaching materials, structures, concepts, and scientific mindset to support teaching

Developing professionalism through reflective actions

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Another essential factor that can be extracted from the interview results to help students

in constructing their knowledge is “the condition of learning.” Learning condition is one of the

curriculum elements that emphasizes learning tools or facilities to support the learning process.

Teachers need learning tools to support learning activities even though it is not the only factor

that supports effective teaching. Learning facilities can also reduce students’ difficulty in

understanding abstract concepts in biology learning. The need for adequate facilities was

highlighted in the interview by a teacher who pointed to students’ overreliance to the teachers as

the sole learning resource when supports from learning media, laboratory equipment, and other

sources are absent. This teacher’s thought is in harmony with the study finding in Atilla (2012)

who discovered that the main reason as to why the students had difficulties in learning biology

included teachers’ lack of teaching skill, the vast concept/information to learn, as well as the lack

of time and resources (lesson time, laboratory work, and teaching equipment/material).

Another result of the data analysis was the list of teaching methods written by teachers

through the open-ended response to the questionnaire (Table 4.11). From the result, I have

grouped the teaching strategies listed into categories. There is no evidence to guarantee that

teachers have applied those instructional strategies in their classrooms. Yet, one indication that I

can observe was their enthusiasm to find information on the latest instructional methods to teach

biology, especially those that require students to have learning experiences without the

requirement of the laboratory during the data collection process. Teachers requested me to share

my teaching experiences and possible non-laboratory inquiry-based biology learning activities. I

was also invited to give a talk in teachers’ forum discussion on teaching methods required in the

IBC 2013.

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In brief, the Indonesian-Acehnese teachers preferred to use direct instruction methods and

inquiry learning to teach biology content while still considering their pedagogy and professional

competencies as well as the support of conducive learning conditions (especially learning tools

or facilities) in teaching biology.


The data of Table 4.10, all the teachers reported that they had used both teaching

strategies in equal frequencies (direct instruction and inquiry) to teach all biology topics. From

this study, I learned that all teachers have enough knowledge related the various teaching models

that are including in direct instruction and inquiry approaches (as consequences of PD-related

contextual instruction strategies given by the national education agency of Aceh province). Also,

the reflection retrieved from the interview result, the real challenge was not about implementing

various teaching instructions, but more to the content knowledge that teachers have and the

learning conditions. Thus, the practical recommendation that I can suggest are:

• Although there were content/knowledge sharings in teachers meeting forum or from some

professional development given by the National Education Bureau of Aceh province, each

National Education Agency in each district has to regularly update content/teaching materials

before a new semester started to make sure all biology teachers have the same competency of

biology content.

• There is a need for each national education agency in each district to evaluate teachers’

knowledge of the biology content mastery. Thus, the result will be effectively used as the source

of information to upgrade their biology knowledge acquisition.

• The National Education Agency of Aceh province must provide adequate biology-supported

teaching process for each school and should mandate all schools’ manager/headmaster to hire a

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professional laboratory assistant to manage the laboratory facilities and equipment. Besides,

adequate skills in using and treating some teaching-supported equipment through professional

development. The national agency should check that all teacher gets the same probability to

involve in this PD because from the field note I have got, the school headmaster gets used to

send the same person to participate in similar PD.

• Because there is circulation in headmaster position at a school for certain time, the National

Education agency must confirm that all headmaster has similar policies and managing skills of

the use of schools’ facilities. Therefore, unnecessary prohibition to use teaching learning

supported-facilities at schools could be avoided.


To validate teachers’ opinion towards the implementation of various instructional

strategies, sets of lesson plan of several biology topics from Indonesia-Acehnese high school

teachers from 23 districts can be collected and analyzed. Teacher’s workbooks (called book 1

and book 2), that consist of administration documents (book 1) and instructional documents

(book 2, which consist of the lesson plan, assessment, etc.) can also be assessed to get

information about the teaching and learning process conducted in a classroom. Additionally, in-

depth interviews about their struggles in conducting teaching and learning of biology content,

especially the process stages in designing their lesson plan from indicators elaboration to the

assessment process, will enrich the evidence for the future research.

Research Questions 5: What general perceptions are reported by these Indonesian-

Acehnese teachers regarding the required biology assessment in the Indonesian curriculum

2013 document?

To review, the scope of assessment in IBC 2013 implementation consists of measuring

learning outcomes in terms of attitude (social and spiritual skills), cognition (knowledge), and

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affective/psychomotor (skills) domains in authentic ways. Syarif (2015) stated that each focus of

assessment has its own assessment goals.

The assessment of attitude domains consists of the stages of acceptance, response,

appreciation, awareness, and practical value. The instrument used to assess students attitudes

includes checklists or rating scales with rubrics, which are calculated in the modus score, as well

as the anecdotal record using teachers’ journal. The result of the analysis of attitude domain

assessment (see Table 4.12) showed that the biology teachers preferred to use self-assessment

technique (using self-assessment sheet) for almost all biology materials (except the Mendel law

topic) rather than observations and peer-observations. As stated in the IBC 2013, the observation

assessment technique is usually used for experiment and discussion type of instructional

methods, which, in my opinion, is suitable for learning the Mendel law.

On the other hand, self-assessment can be used as reinforcement in measuring their own

learning progress. A self-assessment is usually conducted after students have learned a particular

basic competency or finished a task. Also, to eliminate learners’ bias and subjectivity in

assessing themselves, self-assessment is conducted based on clear and objective criteria. The

teachers’ tendency of using this attitude type of assessment could be affected by the complex

assessment required in the curriculum or by a shift in teaching trend that centered on students.

The results here were contrary to those of previous studies done by Natsir et al. (2018)

and Retnawati et al. (2016). They maintained that that observation and the use of a journal gave a

more straightforward and effective assessment in measuring students’ attitude than other

assessment techniques. Retnawati et al. (2016) also added that the observation technique is low-

cost (less paper) and time-saving (less effort to design the instrument) technique.

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Meanwhile, the objectives of assessment in the cognitive domain are to assess the ability

to think and remember, understand, apply and analyze, and evaluate and create factual,

conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive information. To assess students’ knowledge (see

Table 4.13), biology teachers preferred to use paper-based tests (57%-83%) and homework

(42%-62%, which were created either by teachers themselves or from questions found in the

textbooks) rather than oral test or portfolio. I assume that the tests and homework are simple and

easy assessments to assess what students have learned from the abundant core materials required.

In accordance with the affective domain, the assessment objectives include measuring

abstract skills (in the forms of learning abilities of observing, questioning, gathering information

/ attempting, reasoning / associating, communicating), and assessing the concrete skills

(perceptual skills, readiness, mimic/guided response, mechanism, complex or overt response)

from a natural movement (adaptation) into an original action. Besides, assessing students’ skills

through performance was preferred by most of the teachers to portfolio or projects assignment

(Table 4.14). Although assessing students’ skills through performance assessment is considered

to be more appropriate, preparing the assessment rubric and determining the indicators can be

challenging (Retnawati et al., 2016).

Furthermore, based on the open-ended response analysis (see Table 4.15), many teachers

(approximately 128 responses came up on the survey instrument) also said that the required

assessment is very complex and complicated, shifting their focus to teaching to understanding

and to filling up the paper. At this point, I firmly agree with the teachers’ opinions. There are

vast quantities of assessment rubrics provided and required in the curriculum. However,

nowadays, the National Education Bureau has reduced the assessment techniques required in the

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curriculum as part of the evaluation progresses. Thus, each assessment rubric provided in the

curriculum is followed by clear instruction and criteria in conducting the assessment.

The complexity of the assessment required was also supported in the studies conducted

by Natsir et al. (2018) and Retnawati et al. (2016). In addition, Lumadi (2013) stated that the

major challenges affecting teachers’ classroom assessment included understanding the required

policy, providing the assessment plan, implementing the assessment, using the various

assessment methods, and allocating time for doing the assessment. Suyanto (2017) also found

that because of teachers’ unpreparedness to assess students in four aspects (knowledge, skill,

social, and spiritual), 43.5% of the total number of teachers in this study still faced difficulties in

understanding and implementing authentic assessment in their classrooms. Although there is no

exact number to be reported concerning the unpreparedness of Acehnese teachers in applying the

required assessment, the interview responses from them in this study reported having difficulties

in understanding and using such complex assessment correctly as well as in customizing

students’ card report that keeps changing several times.


Reflecting to the result Table 4.12, Table 4.13, and Table 4.14, the lowest selection of

teachers’ choices to assess students’ attitude, knowledge, and skills are peer observation,

portfolio, and giving projects respectively. The recommendation that I can suggest to the Aceh

National Education Agency is to consider my qualitative analysis results in Table 4.15,

especially to the most frequent response given by teachers related their view towards their

problems in applying assessment required in the IBC 2013. Then, the Bureau can generate

polices based on assessment requirement according to the students’ conditions in the Aceh

province. A workshop and professional development of creating instruments for assesment

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should be conducted to design appropriate rubrics that are aligned with the competency standards

and indicators of each topic taught. Professional development in test questions construction will

also help teachers to apply proper assessment to the curriculum instead of their efforts on using

assessment tools and test downloaded from the internet or taken from any biology textbooks.

Area for Further Study

Qualitative analysis of assessment documents created by teachers is allowed to gather

extended information of the alignment on assessment designed to what is expected to be

measured in the intended curriculum. Also, the use of non-parametric tests such as the Mann–

Whitney U test or Kruskal-Wallis to examine the significant relationships between length of

teaching experience and length of teaching experience using the IBC 2013 on the selection of

assessment used to assess attitude, knowledge, and performance.



The implementation of character education at schools is not in the form of the specific

subject but is inserted in the classroom and informal activities of a learning process at schools

(Julaiha, 2014; Judiani, 2010). According to Badan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Pusat

Kurikulum dan Pembukuan (Puskurbuk) (2011), the development of character education is

influenced by two factors: nurture (environment) and nature (congenital/default). Thus, the

aspects of character education include: (1) emotional and spiritual development, (2) intellectual

development, (3) physical and kinesthetic development, and (4) affective and creativity

development. In addition, the implementation process of character education in senior secondary

school is conducted in three ways by the integration into subjects (instructional steps),

integration through self-development activities (extracurricular activities), and integration

121

through local content or specific occasions. Teachers may also use other strategies to integrate

character education at schools such as in routine habits, spontaneous habit, and modeling habit

(Badan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Pusat Kurikulum dan Pembukuan, 2011).

Based on the result analysis (see Table 4.16), most of the character education required to

be integrated into biology teaching and learning process has been assimilated by Acehnese

teachers even though some characters, such as independence, democracy, nationalism,

patriotism, appreciation of achievement and love of reading, were not mentioned. I believe that

those unmentioned educational characters (moral values) have been explicitly implemented by

students during their learning processes. To organize the types of integration of character

education into lessons, I adopted the instructional steps of the 5Es model. At this point, my

reasons for using these instructional steps include: (1) they consist of proper steps of instruction

from opening to closing sessions, which help me arrange my information finding efficiently; (2)

biology teachers in Aceh are familiar with 5E instructional model and frequently adopted it in

their teaching because its application has produced significant impacts in science process skills

(Karsli & Ayas, 2014; Purwanto, 2014; Nugraheni, 2012;), significant achievement on science

academic results (Ajaja & Eravwoke, 2012; Açışlı et al., 2011; Cardak et al., 2008), substantial

impact on science education, and good understanding of the nature of science (BSCS, 2016).

Julaiha (2014) has reported the following similar situation in the integration of character

education into instructional stages: (1) at the opening activity, the character values were

embedded. For instance, teachers coming to the class on time as a reflection of discipline, and

praying before initiating the lessons as the value of religious; (2) during the main activities

(exploration, elaboration, confirmation) the character values are integrated; for instance, teachers

involve learners in looking for extensive and in-depth information on the topic studied as the

122

reflection of independence, logical thinking, creativity and cooperation (exploration); teachers

familiarize students with reading, writing, and discussing tasks as the reflection of love of

science, creativity, logical thinking, critical thinking, and mutual respect (elaboration); and

teachers give positive feedback and reinforcement as the reflection of mutual respect,

confidence, politeness, critical thinking, and logical thinking (confirmation); (3) at the closing

activity, teachers and students collaboratively create conclusions as the reflection of

independence, cooperation, as well as critical and logical thinking.

Furthermore, Yudianto (2011) explained the value of character education through biology

science models for human learning, including togetherness and cooperation values through the

analogy model of plant transportation system, and nationality value through the model of fruit

development. Matchin (2014) also added that character integration in biology learning provides a

meaningful experience for students because they understand, internalize and actualize the values

through learning process. He also found that the application of a scientific approach and

character integration have positively affected the cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning

outcomes of more than 85% of all students who were involved in the instruction.

In brief, the Indonesian-Acehnese biology teachers have integrated character education

not only through dividing teaching activities into several stages of instructional steps (inserted in

core competency and basic competency) but also in the extracurricular activities at school. As an

autonomous province characterized with Islamic Sharia, character education and moral values

have been integrated indirectly long before they were required and mandated in the new

curriculum.

123


As the semi-autonomous and sharia-law province, the educator and policy makers

(including the National Education agency and Experts from the Universities) should have

considered to the integration of religious characters formally into schools. The National

Education agency of Aceh province should collaborate with the Islamic Educational Affairs of

Aceh province in providing contextual workshop of biology lesson plans design to be

implemented in classroom.


Asking teachers to provide descriptions (such as in an essay writing form) on how they

have integrated educational values (for certain biology topics) in their instructional process will

expand the qualitative analysis result in answering this research questions. In addition, a

comparison study of the character education integration in biology subjects between two semi-

autonomous provinces in Indonesia (Aceh province and Yogyakarta province) will expand the

information on the probability of other aspects that may influence the character education

integration process, such as cultural factor, specific customs, policy or the environment

conditions.

Conclusion for Further Study Suggestions

The suggestion for future research related to the data analysis (perhaps for more than one

research question) would be to use non-parametric tests, such as the Mann–Whitney U test or

Kruskal-Wallis to examine the significance of the relationships between participant

demographics and various outcomes. For example, more experienced teachers teach a certain

topic more than novice teachers, etc.

124

Through direct observation of the real classroom, the more in-depth answer to the

research questions could be provided. The classroom observation might provide a connection

between teachers’ perspective given in the questionnaire and their real classroom actions so

possible synchronization of both (perception and action) could be highlighted. In addition, by

interviewing peer teachers and school headmasters, I also could evaluate teachers’ performance

to enrich the triangulation methods in this research.

This research can also be expanded by interviewing people in charge from both national

education bureau of Aceh province and the regional Education Quality Insurance Board as

additional sources to obtain the whole pictures of curriculum implementation process in Aceh. In

addition, analyzing teaching documents provided by teachers such as lesson plans will give

detailed information on teachers’ efforts in supporting the curriculum implementation. I also

could see how teachers make significant changes to their teaching skills by looking into the

previous lesson plan from the previous curriculum requirement.

Talking to students or knowing their perceptions about the teaching and learning process

conducted by their biology teachers would provide suitable instructional methods that can be

uniquely applied in Aceh, rather than in other provinces in Indonesia.

In the comparison of the intended curriculum on biology content, involving more

countries in this study will enrich the information about an ideal curriculum for biology teaching.

Also, it might be interesting to extend this research by observing the classroom application of the

inquiry learning between science classroom in the United States and Aceh province.

Final Thoughts

This study acknowledges me on how to compare the similarities and differences between

two different types of documents that run in the education system in developed (The United

125

States) and developing (Republic of Indonesia) countries. As an educator, from this study, I

learned that both documents have provided satisfactory intended standards and intended

curriculum content to support science teaching and learning process. Gathering information on

biology teachers’ perspectives about the implementation of the IBC 2013 as specific case

findings for Aceh’s province provide information to conduct another similar study across

provinces in Indonesia.

126

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136

Appendix A1

Survey of Biology Content and Action of Biology Curriculum

Please complete this questionnaire below. All information in this questionnaire will be used for

research and analysis purposes only as a part of Doctoral dissertation. No individual results will

be provided to anyone but the researcher

Part I: Subject Background

Instruction: answer each question below by giving check mark (√) in appropriate column

Personal details

1. Age :

2. Gender : Male Female

3. Type of Senior Secondary School : Public Private

4. School Location: Rural Sub-Urban Urban

Educational background

1. What is the highest level of latest education you have completed?

Diploma (D3) Doctor (S3)

Bachelor (S1) Others, …………………..

Master (S2)

2. Year of graduation from your highest level of education:

137

Biology teaching experience

1. Length of teaching experience:

< 1 year 11-15 years

1- 5 years > 15 years

6 - 10 years

2. Teaching experience with curriculum 2013:

< 1 month 6-10 months

1- 5 months > 12 months

3. Teaching experience with the character integration aspect of the new curriculum:

< 1 month 6-10 months

1- 5 months > 12 months

Part II: Biology Content

Instruction: Please use this scale below in order to answer the questions by giving check

mark (√) in appropriate column according to you.

Topic covered is either the content is taught Y=Yes, N=No

Level of importance is how extent your belief to the topic to be taught to understand biology

course NI=Not Importance, LI=Less Importance, N=Neutral, I=Importance, SI=Strongly

Importance

No Biology Topic

(A)

Topic

Covered

(B) Level of Importance (C) Teaching Strategy

(Tick all that are

relevant)

(D) Assessment Strategies

Y N NI LI N I SI

Dir

ect

Inst

ruct

ion

(lec

ture

r)

Inqu

iry

or

Dis

cover

y

(pra

ctic

al w

ork

)

Aft

er s

chool

exp

erie

nce

s


Ob

serv

atio

n

shee

ts/

jou

rnal

Sel

f

asse

smen

t

Pee

r

asse

smen

t

Wri

tten

tew

t

Ora

l te

st

ho

mew

ork

Po

tofo

lio

per

foem

ance

Po

rto

foli

o

pro

ject

1. Genetics materials and

structure (DNA, protein)

2. Hierarchical structure of

multicellular organism:

cell structure and

function

3. Structure and function

of plant tissues

4. Structure and function

of animal tissues

5. Specialized cells of

multicellular organism

and their functions:

digestion




circulation




respiration

138

No Biology Topic

(A)

Topic

Covered


(Tick all that are

relevant)


Y N NI LI N I SI

Dir

ect

Inst

ruct

ion

(lec

ture

r)

Inqu

iry

or

Dis

cover

y

(pra

ctic

al w

ork

)

Aft

er s

chool

exp

erie

nce

s


Ob

serv

atio

n

shee

ts/

jou

rnal

Sel

f

asse

smen

t

Pee

r

asse

smen

t

Wri

tten

tew

t

Ora

l te

st

ho

mew

ork

Po

tofo

lio

per

foem

ance

Po

rto

foli

o

pro

ject




muscle




excretion




reproduction




nerve system

12. Growth and

development of living

things: basic concept

13. Metabolism:

Photosynthesis (process

of energy

transformation)

139

No Biology Topic

(A)

Topic

Covered


(Tick all that are

relevant)


Y N NI LI N I SI

Dir

ect

Inst

ruct

ion

(lec

ture

r)

Inqu

iry

or

Dis

cover

y

(pra

ctic

al w

ork

)

Aft

er s

chool

exp

erie

nce

s


Ob

serv

atio

n

shee

ts/

jou

rnal

Sel

f

asse

smen

t

Pee

r

asse

smen

t

Wri

tten

tew

t

Ora

l te

st

ho

mew

ork

Po

tofo

lio

per

foem

ance

Po

rto

foli

o

pro

ject

14. Metabolism: cellular

respiration (aerobic-

anaerobic)

15. Metabolism: Enzymes

16. Ecosystem: biodiversity

17. Ecosystem: matter

cycles and energy flows

18. Ecosystem: component

and interaction

19. Ecosystem: changes of

physical environment

and waste recycle

20. Morphology of plants

and its function

21. Cellular Division:

mitosis and meiosis

22. Mendel law

23. Variation of traits:

pattern of heredity,

mutation, heredity in

human

140

No Biology Topic

(A)

Topic

Covered


(Tick all that are

relevant)


Y N NI LI N I SI

Dir

ect

Inst

ruct

ion

(lec

ture

r)

Inqu

iry

or

Dis

cover

y

(pra

ctic

al w

ork

)

Aft

er s

chool

exp

erie

nce

s


Ob

serv

atio

n

shee

ts/

jou

rnal

Sel

f

asse

smen

t

Pee

r

asse

smen

t

Wri

tten

tew

t

Ora

l te

st

ho

mew

ork

Po

tofo

lio

per

foem

ance

Po

rto

foli

o

pro

ject

24. Natural selection and

adaptation

25. Darwin theory of

evolution

26. Feedback mechanism

inside the living system:

homeostasis

27. Mendel Pattern and

inheritance

28. Basic concept of

Biotechnology

29. Immune system:

mechanism

30. Role and characteristics

of Invertebrate and

vertebrate


of Fungi


of Protista

141

No Biology Topic

(A)

Topic

Covered


(Tick all that are

relevant)


Y N NI LI N I SI

Dir

ect

Inst

ruct

ion

(lec

ture

r)

Inqu

iry

or

Dis

cover

y

(pra

ctic

al w

ork

)

Aft

er s

chool

exp

erie

nce

s


Ob

serv

atio

n

shee

ts/

jou

rnal

Sel

f

asse

smen

t

Pee

r

asse

smen

t

Wri

tten

tew

t

Ora

l te

st

ho

mew

ork

Po

tofo

lio

per

foem

ance

Po

rto

foli

o

pro

ject


of Bacteria


of virus

142

143

Part III: Short Answer Questions

1. Do you use any different strategies (not mentioned above) to teach any biology topics?

Please explain.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. How do you integrate the character education value in your teaching? Provide examples.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. What do you think of the assessment that is required in the biology curriculum? Please

explain your response.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION AND RESPONSES

144

Interview Questions

1. What essential element do you think should be present in your instruction or teaching

practice (including assessment) to facilitate students’ knowledge construction?

2. Do you use the 2006 KTSP biology curriculum or 2013 biology curriculum? What are the

challenge/problem and opportunities that you face in the implementation of any of those

curriculums?

3. What do you consider an ideal biology curriculum in terms of representative biology

content?

145

Appendix A2

Angket Kurikulum 2013 Sekolah Menengah Atas

dan Proses Belajar Mengajar Biologi

Lengkapi kuesioner di bawah ini. Semua informasi dalam kuesioner ini akan digunakan untuk

tujuan penelitian dan dianalisis sebagai bagian dari disertasi. Infomasi perorangan dijamin

kerahasiaanya dan hanya diketahui peneliti.

Bagian A: Latar Belakang Peserta

Instruksi: Isilah setiap pertanyaan di bawah dan beri tanda (√) dalam kolom yang sesuai.

Data Pribadi

1. Umur :

2. Jenis Kelamin : Laki-laki Perempuan

3. Jenis Sekolah : Negeri Swasta

4. Lokasi Sekolah : Desa Pinggiran Kota Kawasan Perkotaan

Data Pendidikan

1. Pendidikan terakhir

Sarjana (S1) Doktor (S3)

Magister (S2) Lainnya, ………

2. Tahun tamat pendidikan terakhir:

Pengalaman Mengajar

1. Sudah berapa lamakah anda membelajarkan mata pelajaran biologi?

< 1 tahun 11-15 tahun

1- 5 tahun > 15 tahun

6 - 10 tahun

146

2. Pengalaman membelajarkan siswa dengan kurikulum 2013:

Tidak pernah 6-10 bulan

< 1 bulan > 12 bulan

1-5 bulan

3. Pengalaman membelajarkan siswa dengan meintegrasikan nilai karakter sesuai persyaratan

dalam kurikulum:

Tidak pernah 6-10 bulan

< 1 bulan > 12 bulan

1-5 bulan

Bagian II: Materi Pokok Biologi

Instruksi : Gunakan skala berikut ini untuk menjawab pertanyaan kolom A, B, C dan D

dan beri tanda centang (√) untuk jawaban yang sesuai menurut anda.

(A) Apakah topik biologi ini diajarkan? Y=Ya, T=Tidak

(B) Tingkat kepentingan adalah sejauh mana anda yakin bahwa topik biologi tersebut

penting diajarkan untuk memahami ilmu biologi: STP=Sangat Tidak Penting,

TP=Tidak Penting, N=Netral, P=Penting, SP=Sangat Penting

No Topik Biologi

(A) Topik

Diajarkan (B) Tingkat Kepentingan

(C) Strategi Belajar Mengajar

(*Jawaban boleh lebih dari

satu)

(D) Teknik Penilaian

(*Jawaban boleh lebih dari satu)

Y T STP TP N P SP

Intr

uk

si L

ang

sung

(cer

amah

)

Pem

bel

ajar

an

mel

alu

i

pen

yel

idik

an/

pro

yek

Jam

tam

bah

an

dil

uar

kel

as

Sikap Pengetahuan Keterampilan

Lem

bar

ob

serv

asi/

Jur

nal

Pen

ilai

an d

iri

Pen

iaia

n

anta

r te

man

Tes

ter

tuli

s

Tes

lis

an

pen

ug

asan

po

rto

foli

o

kin

erja

po

rto

foli

o

pro

yek

1. Struktur dan materi genetik

(DNA, protein)

2. Struktur hirarkis organisme

multiseluler: Struktur sel

dan fungsi

3. Struktur dan fungsi

jaringan tumbuhan

4. Struktur dan fungsi

jaringan hewan

5. Sel-sel khusus organisme

multisel dan fungsinya:

Sistem pencernaan



Sistem peredaran darah



sistem pernafasan



sistem gerak



sistem ekskresi



sistem reproduksi

147

No Topik Biologi

(A) Topik




satu)



Y T STP TP N P SP

Intr

uk

si L

ang

sung

(cer

amah

)

Pem

bel

ajar

an

mel

alu

i

pen

yel

idik

an/

pro

yek

Jam

tam

bah

an

dil

uar

kel

as


Lem

bar

ob

serv

asi/

Jur

nal

Pen

ilai

an d

iri

Pen

iaia

n

anta

r te

man

Tes

ter

tuli

s

Tes

lis

an

pen

ug

asan

po

rto

foli

o

kin

erja

po

rto

foli

o

pro

yek



sistem syaraf

12. Pertumbuhan dan

perkembangan makhluk

hidup: Konsep dasar

13. Metabolisme: Fotosintesis

(proses perubahan energi)

14. Metabolisme: respirasi sel

(aerob dan anaerob)

15. Metabolisme: Enzim

16. Ekosistem: Biodiversitas

17. Ekosistem: Siklus materi

dan aliran energi

18. Ekosistem: komponen dan

interaksi

19. Ekosistem: Perubahan

iklim/lingungan dan daur

ulang limbah

20. Tumbuhan: ciri-ciri

morfologis dan peranannya

21. Pembelahan sel: Mitosis

and meiosis

22. Hukum Mendel

148

No Topik Biologi

(A) Topik




satu)



Y T STP TP N P SP

Intr

uk

si L

ang

sung

(cer

amah

)

Pem

bel

ajar

an

mel

alu

i

pen

yel

idik

an/

pro

yek

Jam

tam

bah

an

dil

uar

kel

as


Lem

bar

ob

serv

asi/

Jur

nal

Pen

ilai

an d

iri

Pen

iaia

n

anta

r te

man

Tes

ter

tuli

s

Tes

lis

an

pen

ug

asan

po

rto

foli

o

kin

erja

po

rto

foli

o

pro

yek

23. Variasi pewarisan sifat:

pola-pola hereditas, mutasi,

hereditas pada manusia

24. Adaptasi dan seleksi alami

25. Teori evolusi Darwin

26. Homeostasis

27. Pola Mendel dan

pewarisan sifat

28. Konsep dasar bioteknologi

29. Sistem pertahanan tubuh

30. Ciri dan karakteristik serta

peranan avertebrata dan

vertebrata


peranan jamur


peranan Protista


peranan bakteri


peranan virus

149

141

150

Bagian III: Jawaban Singkat

1. Apakah anda menggunakan strategi pembelajaran lainnya (selain yang disebutkan diatas)

dalam proses kegiatan pembelajaran mata pelajaran biologi? Jelaskan.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. Bagaimana anda menintegrasikan nilai nilai karakter dalam proses belajar mengajar mata

pelajaran biologi? Berikan contoh.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. Bagaimana pendapat anda tentang sistem penilaian dalam pembelajaran mata pelajaran

biologi seperti yang disyaratkan dalam kurikulum 2013? Jelaskan pendapat anda.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Terima Kasih Atas Partisipasi dan Jawaban Anda

Kerjasama Anda Sangat Kami Hargai

151

Appendix B

Official Letters from Local Education Agency of Aceh

152

Appendix C

Approval IRB Protocol

153

Appendix D1

Informed Consent Survey

Secondary Biology Instruction in the General Senior Secondary Schools of Aceh Province

Indonesia: Analysis of Teachers’ Opinions and Teaching Practices Related to the 2013

Biology Curriculum

Dear Biology Teacher,

You are invited to participate in a study entitled “Secondary Biology Instruction in the General

Senior Secondary Schools of Aceh Province Indonesia: Analysis of Teachers’ Opinions and

Teaching Practices Related to the 2013 Biology Curriculum”. The goals of the research are to

better understand (1) Indonesian teachers’ general perceptions of the importance of the required

biology topics; (2) teaching strategies that teachers use to teach the biology topics and integrate

character education in their teaching; and (3) teachers’ general opinion of the biology assessment

required in the curriculum; and (1) the differences and similarities between Indonesia biology

curriculum 2013 and the corresponding life science framework of NGSS. You were selected as a

possible participant in this study because this study will involve 278 of 1,154 biology teachers

from 436 high school (public and private) in 23 Aceh districts that are selected randomly.

If you decide to participate, please complete the enclosed questionnaire. Your return of this

survey is implied consent. It will take about 20 minutes to complete the questionnaire. No

benefits accrue to you for answering the questionnaire, but your responses will be used to assist

the curriculum implementation unit of Aceh Province (the National Education Bureau and the

Education Quality Insurance Institute) in monitoring the 2013 curriculum implementation with a

particular focus on the Biology curriculum. Any discomfort or inconvenience to you derives only

from the amount of time taken to complete the questionnaire. In addition to the survey, you

might be also selected and asked to complete an interview.

Your decision whether or not to participate will not prejudice your future relationships with

College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas. If you decide to

participate, you are free to discontinue participation at any time without prejudice.

Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be identified with you

will be kept confidential to the extent allowed by law and University policy and maintained for

three years past the completion of the study.

If you have questions or concerns about this study, you may contact William F. McComas, PhD

at (479) 575-7525 or by e-mail at [email protected]. For questions or concerns about your

rights as a research participant, please contact Ro Windwalker, the University’s IRB

Coordinator, at (479) 575-2208 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Thank you for your willingness to participate in this study.

mailto:[email protected]

154

Appendix D2

Informed Consent Interview

Secondary Biology Instruction in the General Senior Secondary Schools of Aceh Province

Indonesia: Analysis of Teachers’ Opinions and Teaching Practices Related to the 2013

Biology Curriculum

Dear Biology Teacher,

You are invited to participate in a study entitled “Secondary Biology Instruction in the General

Senior Secondary Schools of Aceh Province Indonesia: Analysis of Teachers’ Opinions and

Teaching Practices Related to the 2013 Biology Curriculum”. The goals of the research are to

better understand (1) Indonesian teachers’ general perceptions of the importance of the required

biology topics; (2) teaching strategies that teachers use to teach the biology topics and integrate

character education in their teaching; and (3) teachers’ general opinion of the biology assessment

required in the curriculum; and (1) the differences and similarities between Indonesia biology

curriculum 2013 and the corresponding life science framework of NGSS. You were selected as a

possible participant in this study because this study will involve 10 of 278 biology teachers from

436 high school (public and private) in 23 Aceh districts that are selected randomly.

If you decide to participate, during the interview, you will be asked three questions and it will be

audio-taped. Your willing to answer the questions is implied consent of interview. It will take

about 45 to 60 minutes to complete the interview. No benefits accrue to you for answering the

questions in the interview, but your responses will be used to assist the curriculum

implementation unit of Aceh Province (the National Education Bureau and the Education Quality

Insurance Institute) in monitoring the 2013 curriculum implementation with a particular focus on

the Biology curriculum. Any discomfort or inconvenience to you derives only from the amount

of time taken to answer the questions of interview.

Your decision whether or not to participate will not prejudice your future relationships with

College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas. If you decide to

participate, you are free to discontinue participation at any time without prejudice.

Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be identified with you

will be kept confidential to the extent allowed by law and University policy and maintained for

three years past the completion of the study.

If you have questions or concerns about this study, you may contact William F. McComas, PhD

at (479) 575-7525 or by e-mail at [email protected]. For questions or concerns about your

rights as a research participant, please contact Ro Windwalker, the University’s IRB

Coordinator, at (479) 575-2208 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Thank you for your willingness to participate in this study.

mailto:[email protected]

155

Appendix E1

English Transcripts of Interview

Transcription code: Transcript 001

Notes: Q: Interviewer; A: Responder

1 Q: What are the most important elements which should have been included in the

teaching and learning process where it can enable students to construct their

knowledge?

A: I think skill is critical because students will understand better when they do and

observe, not when they only listen.

Q: In biology course curriculum, the elements are teaching and learning process,

assessment, teaching material, content, learning condition, competitions and their

rules. So, in your opinion, are there any other elements essential for constructivism?

A: The very important elements for instruction are facilities and teachers' competence.

We should create balance or strategies between personal and materials as well as the

method implemented. In short, the elements of man and facilities/infrastructure

should be present.

Q: So, they are strategies used by teachers, how teachers utilize facilities and their

competence in teaching, then.

A: Yes. Information is also essential.

2 Q: At the school where you work, has the Curriculum 2013 been implemented? What are

the challenges or opportunities faced by the school?

A: Actually, there are many weaknesses, strengths, challenges, and opportunities at the

school. The first weakness in a private school is a financial problem, but it can be

156

covered by operational cost. Another weakness lies in teacher training because not all

teachers are given an opportunity to participate in training. However, teachers who

took part in training can share with other teachers by hosting a local training at the

school. The challenge for teachers is that they have to implement education program

established by the government through the implementation of Curriculum 2013.

Q: What about the opportunities?

A: Actually, there is a chance given by Curriculum 2013, such as authentic assessment

which represents cognitive aspect, affective and skill aspects. The evaluation system

offered by Curriculum 2013 very details. Regarding knowledge, there is a written

test, spoken test, clear assignment with assessment criteria. The instrument and

rubrics to be used, description and how to calculate grades can be written on the

assessment sheet, so that the assessment is objective and precise. The same principle

also applies to attitude, and there are many aspects to access. The students are not

only graded by their teachers but also by their classmates, although this creates some

bias. For example, when asking students whether they have prayed, and they

answered, "Not yet," we can grade students as honest because they admit that they

have not prayed.

Q: Do the teachers have problems in implementing the curriculum regardless of clear

guidelines?

A: The workload has indeed piled up, but professional teachers will use the assessment

elements as best as they could during the teaching and learning process until they

realize that they do not have enough time to complete the task. So, of course, less

competent teachers will be loaded. However, with technology, the work can be

157

simplified. Therefore, teachers have to be familiarized with the use of a computer,

which is a new challenge for them. Some certification pay can be used to improve

their competence, such as for computer training for those who are computer illiterate,

or for other competence and skill improvement. Actually, the program is excellent.

3 Q: My last question is what criteria does an ideal curriculum need to have for biology

course? Every teacher should have an expectation regarding the curriculum

considered an ideal curriculum. What do you consider in deciding if a curriculum for

biology course is ideal?

A: In my opinion, concerning economy, the curriculum needs to integrate

entrepreneurship. This means that the students are not only taught to understand the

materials but also to have entrepreneurial skills so that they can apply their

knowledge.

Q: For biology course, how do we select materials which are related to

entrepreneurship?

A: At least students can use biological knowledge in their life through business. What I

always dream about is a local feature-based curriculum as a secondary curriculum in

addition to the national curriculum. For example, for schools in coastal areas, they

have the curriculum related to marine so that the students have required knowledge

and not less-informed. The local curriculum is adjusted to the environment condition

where the school is located, with local custom integration so that the local custom is

well-maintained.

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Q: So, you mean that secondary biology curriculum is related to local tradition where the

students are learning, and the topic is made more detail. For example, in coastal

areas, materials related to marine biota are given more focus. It's interesting!

A: Yes, that’s right. So, the local custom is taught in detail. It is local content curriculum

which is based on the local feature. The national curriculum should also

accommodate the local curriculum.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add regarding our curriculum, especially for

biology course?

A: For biology, the materials are already very complex. The problem now is that we need

to change our focus to the application. Furthermore, I hope that the government

provides more training and competency test for teachers so that we do not mislead

our students. We do not have reading culture, unlike other people, training and

competence test can motivate us to improve our knowledge, especially about biology.

159

Transcription code: Transcript_2


1 Q: There are some elements in the curriculum. I found in the literature that those

elements are assessment, students, learning condition, content, learning objective,

material, topic, and teaching and learning process. In your opinion, what essential

elements should have been included in the teaching and learning process to facilitate

constructivism? I mean... what factors support knowledge construction?

A: I think it is the process, if it is a good process, such as when proper media are

involved. In Curriculum 2013, a good process also includes assessment. If the

evaluation is not suitable, a material is not well-delivered either.

Q: So, if the process meets the requirement and the assessment is suitable, student

knowledge will be well-constructed. What I mean by to construct is to develop

knowledge.

A: Yes. Indeed.

2 Q: In implementing Curriculum 2013, what do you think the challenges and

opportunities are?

A: The challenge is the complicated assessment. Not all teachers are able to use the

evaluation correctly because the items are abundant and complex.

Q: I heard that some components of assessment in Curriculum 2013 have been reduced?

A: After the revision, some items in assessment have been taken away such as peer

assessment, self-assessment, and indicators for core competence 1 and 2 for all

subjects except religion and civic education, and this makes the assessment easier.

160

Q: What opportunities does Curriculum 2013 offer for students compared to previous

curricula?

A: Curriculum 2013 are clearer targets compared to previous ones.

Q: Does this opportunity only apply to students, or both teachers and students?

A: For teachers as well. Teachers are given clear guidelines so that the students can learn

better when taught.

Q: That brings us to the last question, because I only have three questions.

A: (laugh)

3 Q: In your opinion, how should an ideal biology curriculum look like? What should be

considered in deciding that a biology curriculum is an ideal one, especially regarding

core topics because there are many topics in biology?

A: For Curriculum 2013, right?

Q: No. It is in more general sense. Every teacher has her own criteria of an ideal

curriculum. Can you consider the curriculum designed by the government as an ideal

curriculum? Or what is an ideal curriculum for you?

A: In my opinion, an ideal curriculum, especially for a biology course, is the curriculum

designed by experts in biology, with more lab work or observation. Students should

be given many labs works in a biology course. If possible, it is the biology teachers

who should design the curriculum, so more lab work can be included.

Q: I heard that the Minister has not established a biology department, but biology is in

the science department. I personally do not know the department sections it has.

Maybe it is science in general, perhaps it is a combination of physics, chemistry, etc.

There is, of course, no separate department for biology. In curriculum 2013, one of

161

the steps is inquiry. I think lab work is one of the activities in inquiry. So, lab work is

not a problem but…

A: Yes, but we need more of it.

Q: Yes, not enough or its implementation has not been supported by...

A: I mean like simple media, meaning that each material for science class presented to

the students should be learned through inquiry.

Q: That suggests that we need to be supported by facilities and infrastructure. Teachers

have a guideline on implementing inquiry, but it does not have detail instruction for

every topic. The guideline only addresses the definition of inquiry, like, with some

examples.

A: Yes, it is still very general too.

162



1 Q: Based on the literature that I read, also from the curriculum, there are some elements

in the curriculum, that is students, assessment, competence, learning condition, and

context. In our curriculum, there are objective of a biology course, materials/topics

and contents, also assessment. In your opinion, what element is essential in teaching

and learning process for students to be able to construct their knowledge in biology?

A: The most important element for knowledge construction is the first indicator for each

material we teach so that it leads teachers to achieve the objective of teaching.

Second, because the government asks teachers to meet the goals of teaching with

suggested teaching models, they should have provided examples of the models so

that teachers are not confused in implementing the models. The revised version of the

curriculum has permitted teachers to apply any models they think fit, maybe because

it was found that the models suggested are confusing for teachers. Teachers are now

being provided with information regarding the revision in Curriculum 2013. I hope

that the teachers are also provided with an example of teaching models so that

teachers can apply recommended teaching models. Also, more attention should be

paid to material review for teachers because the materials the teachers need to teach

are completely different to what we learned in college, as a result of development in

science. Unfortunately, teachers have not fully learned new materials, maybe because

of lack of training.

Q: In short, the government should have improved teachers’ competence, which covers

material and examples of teaching models. Indeed, the writers sometimes think that

163

all teachers know how to apply teaching models without studying the real phenomena

at schools.

A: Yes, that’s true.

2 Q: You are currently using Curriculum 2013, aren’t you? What do you think are the

challenges in implementing Curriculum 2013, or what are the problems?

A: Actually, Curriculum 2013 makes it easier for teachers to implement teaching and

learning process where teachers are no longer the center of the process. In my

opinion, students should be motivated to discuss materials so that they can work

together. This will make them learn more. Teachers should be creative in using

various techniques to avoid boredom. In any subjects, the students are expected to

discuss, to construct knowledge. Therefore, teachers need to know many teaching

models so that the discussions are not boring for the students. So, the model should

not be over-repeated.

Q: Yes, indeed.

A: So, the challenge I face is that I have to learn more teaching models to be

implemented in the classroom.

Q: What’s about opportunities provided by the curriculum in teaching biology? For

example, the chances for students to understand the material taught according to

Curriculum 2013 compared to previous curricula.

A: Actually, the opportunity offered for students by Curriculum 2013 is greater because

it encourages students to acquire knowledge by active participation. However, we as

teachers should have been given more training on teaching methodology.

164

Q: Such as how to make the class active? Although it is student-centered, teachers should

still be given training.

A: Yes. The teaching and learning process is student-centered, but still, teachers are

trained teaching models which are applicable to teaching so that the process can

make students more active. Actually, curriculum 2013 support biology course

because we use the laboratory for inquiry, where students can construct their

knowledge. However, not all required lab equipment is available. It is a challenge for

teachers who want to facilitate students to conduct an experiment, but the equipment

is not available.

Q: Yes. Actually, I was asked by my professor about the condition of school laboratories

in Indonesia and about the support from the government. I told him that when I was

in high school, I used lab only once or twice. Curriculum 2013 implement inquiry

approach. Adequate lab facilities will support this approach, to make students

motivated. I do not know the real condition of the laboratory at schools. Some

teachers also reported that the laboratory in their schools are accessible because they

are locked by the school principal.

A: Maybe because the school does not have any laboratory assistant, or maybe the

equipment is not adequate so that we cannot conduct any experiment. Actually,

Curriculum 2013 is very suitable for biology course because we can motivate

students to acquire the knowledge themselves.

3 Q: What do you consider as an ideal biology curriculum for teaching materials in

biology?

165

A: Are they the topics for biology subject which have been set by the government, or

what do you mean?

Q: The topics which are already in the curriculum.

A: The materials in the syllabus are very good for the students to study them from

concrete to abstract concepts. For me, they are great, but the only problem is the

implementation because of limited lab facilities.

Q: So, you believe that biology curriculum is already ideal. In the US, teachers are

allowed to choose whether a material is to be taught or skipped for some reasons. I do

not know for sure though. If they consider a material is not worth teaching, they leave

it out. Are there any such materials in our curriculum?

A: Maybe Hierarchical Organisation in Grade X.

Q: I don't know to be honest. Will it be taught to all students? If it is an introduction,

students will understand it easier.

A: Hierarchical Organisation has been discussed in the first grade of secondary school.

Maybe because there are a lot of topics in biology, when they are asked about the

material, they do not remember it. I think Hierarchical Organisation does not need to

be taught in high school.

Q: Yes. You are right.

A: On the other hand, Classification is very brief in the syllabus. It is even included in

the Hierarchical Organisation. In my opinion, Classification should be taught

separately because this topic is very important. This topic is very limited in

Curriculum 2013.

166

Q: Yes. I have ever conducted research to find out why students score for Classification

was very low, and I discovered that the material requires students to remember many

things.

A: Yes, Hierarchical Organisation is not very relevant. However, sometimes teachers

who graduated from Teacher Training and Education Faculty at Syiah Kuala

University did not learn enough about Classification, so they did not teach students

thoroughly.

167



1 Q: You previously completed my questionnaire. May I ask you three more questions?

A: Certainly.

Q: First of all, do you know what elements are in a curriculum?

A: Syllabus, right?

Q: Based on the literature, the elements in a curriculum covers teaching and learning

process, assessment, and learning condition, learning objectives, teaching material,

context, classroom condition, etc. In your opinion, what elements are essential so that

students can construct their knowledge?

A: Facilities and infrastructure.

Q: Why are they important?

A: In a rural area, facilities and infrastructure are very limited, such as laboratory, which

not all schools here have although it is very important.

Q: How important is a laboratory for teaching and learning process in a biology class.

A: If we have a laboratory with complete equipment, most likely about 80% of the

teaching and learning process has been covered. Most schools here have a laboratory,

but it is an integrated laboratory for science subjects, with limited equipment.

Q: Have you ever taught a class outside the classroom without using a laboratory?

A: I have had an outdoor class, but not all materials can be taught as such. Some

materials can be taught without a laboratory equipment, but others cannot.

2 Q: My second question is, do you teach based on Curriculum 2013 or 2006 at the

school?

168

A: I use both. The school where I teach uses Curriculum 2013 by initiative. Some other

schools have been instructed to use Curriculum 2013.

Q: Are they target schools?

A: Yes. There are three target schools in Bener Meriah district, others are not. At the

school I teach, Curriculum 2013 is used for first grade, and Curriculum 2006 is used

for the second and third grade.

Q: I see. That's fine because my research is about biology. My professor asked me to

choose one curriculum, the newest one, with a consideration that all schools

implement it, or will implement it. What is the challenge you faced in implementing

Curriculum 2013 and 2006?

A: The challenge is that I have not fully understood the curriculum because the lack of

training, and the training given to teachers are not comprehensive. Selection for

training at the provincial level is made by a team in the province, while teams in

district level select subjects in district level. However, the same teachers are always

selected, so not all teachers have given a chance to attend the training.

Q: I see. It maybe will be more well-distributed if the Department of Education selected

the subjects. What is the challenge of using Curriculum 2013 in the classroom?

A: It's not hard actually, but easier instead. It is just not well-understood. Evaluation is

quite complicated.

Q: But affective category in assessment has been simplified, revised right?

A: I believe so, but we have not received any training about the revised curriculum.

Q: So you still use previous assessment system?

A: Yes.

169

Q: Is there any opportunity for the school to perform better with Curriculum 2013?

A: If it is well-implemented, Curriculum 2013 is better than the school-based

curriculum. In terms of material, there have not been many changes between the

school-based curriculum and Curriculum 2013 except Curriculum 2013 has more a

systematic system. So, if it is implemented, the teaching and learning process is

better, but a better understanding of the curriculum is required.

Q: So, we can conclude that there is a lack of teaching professional development.

A: Yes. Teachers desperately need training.

3 Q: In your opinion, don't worry, I do not record your identity. In your opinion, what is an

ideal curriculum for biology, especially in terms of teaching material? Do you think

our curriculum is ideal, with all material to be taught? Is there any material we should

leave, or what do you think?

A: I think Curriculum 2013 is an excellent curriculum, but it can be improved because

there are some materials which are very brief but very important at the same time.

But students at public senior high schools will complain if the materials are taught

extensively.

Q: That’s true because the curriculum for public senior high schools, Islamic senior high

schools, and vocational schools is similar. I will compare the curriculum in the US

and that in Indonesia because the US curriculum covers materials in detail but not too

many materials are taught. Do you think our students are capable of learning all

materials in biology subject?

A: That's what I told you. At the senior high school level, what materials we should teach

and which ones are important need more attention.

170

Q: So, you believe that Curriculum 2013 can be considered an ideal curriculum? I mean,

will the students learn enough material in Biology?

A: Yes. I think the materials in syllabus have covered what our students need to learn.

171



1 Q: Previously, you have completed my questionnaire. You answered the question about

the topics which you considered important and those you considered not necessary. I

mentioned about assessment, teaching and learning strategies, and topics in biology.

In your opinion, which important element do we need to have in teaching and

learning process in order to facilitate knowledge construction? Is it assessment,

material, or learning resource?

A: The most important element is learning resource, teaching methodology, and teaching

media. For learning resource, teachers may explain the material to the students but if

they do not have learning resource, they will rely on teachers who become the

primary resource. If they have books as their learning resource, they will learn from

the books in addition to teaching staff. After that, visual aids such as torso is

important for me.

Q: I see. It is like supporting media, right?

A: Yes, as supporting media and they are crucial. The school where I teach is located

between Lhokseumawe City and North Aceh, so most students are from this area.

Most of them come from middle to lower-class families, so we cannot expect them to

have their own course book. The school provides about 25 books but they cannot be

checked out, so they do not read the book to prepare themselves for the class, but

they only read it during the class.

Q: Is that because the books are not enough for all students, so they have to share with

peers?

172

A: Yes, they cannot take the books home, so materials from teachers, learning resources,

and media are vital.

2 Q: Have you implemented Curriculum 2006 or Curriculum 2013 so far?

A: We have been using Curriculum 2013 for three years.

Q: What are challenges in implementing Curriculum 2013?

A: The challenge is that the students some from less fortunate families, so it is

challenging to implement Curriculum 2013. Curriculum 2013 motivates students to

obtain knowledge themselves, but teachers are still the source of knowledge because

students do not have books to read. For example, when teachers assign group work

and find materials from the internet, students do not have internet access because

internet café or wifi are not available in the area. Only one or two students have

access to the internet.

Q: Are internet access not available in coffee shops either?

A: No. Only one or two students have a notebook computer which belongs to their sister,

with wifi, and that’s it. So, it is very difficult for teachers to upgrade students critical

thinking.

Q: Yes. Books for biology based on Curriculum 2013 can be downloaded, but maybe

they can’t effort to print the book?

A: That’s what happen. There is no internet café around. It is only accessible in the city,

but it is too far from their area. Another challenge is related to assessment, i.e.

students grade report, which keeps changing every semester, making teacher

confused.

Q: Is the report presented in a piece of paper or in a book?

173

A: Student’s scores are inserted into a software, which produces final scores for the

report, which can later be printed. But, the format keeps changing.

Q: So that is the challenge, making teacher’s job pile up. What is the positive effect of

using Curriculum 2013?

A: There are many positive effects of Curriculum 2013 but because the implementation

in our school is limited, it is not perfect.

Q: So, there are many challenges, although it is a good curriculum.

A: Yes. Actually, this curriculum is very good, to improve their character.

Q: What character have you been integrating at the school?

A: What I have implemented was praying at the beginning of the lesson, which develops

students' religious character, submitting assignments on time to develop discipline,

and making students listen and respect opinions of others in a discussion.

Q: What’s about when you are teaching a certain topic. Have you integrated a character

into a lesson?

A: Yes. I do it for all lessons.

Q: Do you mean that Curriculum 2013 develops characters as a whole? Is it not only the

characters related to this knowledge?

A: Not. It develops character as a whole. For examples, students attend the class on time

or submit an assignment. These develop the students' character.

3 Q: Yes, yes. The third question is how should an ideal curriculum look like? Maybe you

have an expectation about an ideal curriculum for biology.

A: Curriculum 2013 is an excellent curriculum, the materials are more organized, the

syllabus has been provided by the government, teachers only need to develop it,

174

teaching tools can be supported by teaching method. The assessment is also very

good. There is an assessment for affective, cognitive, and psychomotor. Generally,

everything is great. Fortunately, the assessment in Curriculum 2013 has been revised,

where assessment for the affective domain has been simplified. Previously we had to

make an assessment for individual students, which took too much time.

Q: Yes, that’s right.

A: But now the assessment for the affective domain is more intensive, intended to

specified target students. Only students who have problems with the affective domain

are assessed.

Q: What’s about biology materials in the syllabus? Do you think there are too many

materials to teach?

A: Actually, there are a lot of materials to teach, such as in grade XI. There are many

sub-topics in “System” in the second semester so that I do not have time left for other

materials. I sometimes gave students assignment to cover those materials, because

there are many sub-topics to teach.

Q: So, is it like when we were at the university?

A: Yes. It is like material in college. In the grade XII, we can still cover all the materials

although there are also many materials to teach, but those in the grade XI are just too

extensive, such as materials about the digestive system. There are too many

materials, let alone for students who do not have their own course book. We have to

teach the step by step, little by little until they understand them because they do not

have reading materials at home and thus rely much on teachers.

Q: So, it is a bit challenging, isn’t it? We cannot use the time wisely.

175

A: Yes, we cannot use the time efficiently.

Q: After reading my questionnaire, do you have any suggestion?

A: I hope your research will be successful.

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1 Q: My first question is, what are important elements which can help construct students’

knowledge?

A: They are media and teaching aid. Previously, there was a confusion about which

curriculum to use, whether it was School-Based Curriculum or Curriculum 2013.

Because our school is a small school, we decided to use School-based Curriculum,

but we refer to Curriculum 2013 for teaching method. For biology, it needs media

and teaching aid. Fortunately, the school has been provided with teaching aid by

Education Department. However, the laboratory does not meet the standard

requirement. Many microscopes provided by Education Department did not work

when we tested them. In short, curriculum, media, and visual aid are very important.

2 Q: Then, you still use Curriculum 2006 but you refer to Curriculum 2013 for teaching

method. In your opinion, what are challenges and opportunities you experienced

when you used these curricula?

A: The problem in teaching and learning by using Curriculum 2013 for biology is that

the objectives are difficult to achieve because in this curriculum the students are

encouraged to study in groups. They are facilitated to study independently to discuss,

complete exercises, write papers, and summarize the materials. However, the time is

not enough to achieve all purposes.

Q: In terms of its bright side of Curriculum 2013, what is the prospect of Curriculum

2013?

177

A: It is more responsive because it utilizes teaching aid which helps students retain

information better. In addition, the teaching methods it offers are dissimilar to student

Active Student Learning Method, where the teachers write the materials on the

backboard. Students cannot easily understand the material by using this method, but

they can if methods offered by Curriculum 2013 is implemented. For example, a

teacher draws an example of an animal cell and plant cell with their organelles. The

teacher does not provide labels for each organelle, but the students know that the

pictures are cells. So, the students can respond faster to the material if the teacher

refers to Curriculum 2013 in teaching a material. The only problem is inadequate

time, which has to be very well-organized to complete all the materials.

Q: So, do you agree if important materials are taught in detail while less significant ones

are left out at the senior high school level? Or what do you think?

A: Regarding materials to be left out at the senior high school level, I believe we should

teach from K1, i.e. introducing students that this is the creation of the God. For

example, for plan reproduction theory, before the human is involved in the

reproduction, teachers explain that animals involved in the process, such as birds.

However, it is more modern now. It is the human who helps plan reproduction.

Teachers invite students to listen to an interesting explanation. Teachers should not

open a book and explain materials in the book. They should make students interested

in biology. Indeed, students have to like all subjects, not just biology. Teachers can

also administer a pretest and posttest to find out the success of teaching and learning

process. Maybe students can only retain information for a short period of time and

will forget it soon.

178

3 Q: For the third question, perhaps as a biology teacher you have an expectation about the

ideal curriculum for biology. What do you consider as ideal for biology curriculum,

especially about materials to be taught?

A: The ideal curriculum for biology needs to cover more simplified materials. The basic

competence for flora and fauna should be simplified, not too bias. We should teach

simpler flora and fauna first. Sometimes, the syllabus is fine, until (…minute 7:50)

third grade. The materials are perfectly organized, but there is room for simplicity.

Q: Do you mean that the scope of materials is simplified because it will be taught again

at the university?

A: Yes, to simplify the materials. In Islam, everything is made simple, such as Quran

and Hadeeth. So, just simplify them.

Q: That’s all I have for you. Do you have any suggestion for me?

A: My advice to the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, related parties, or Aceh

Government is that they provide more skill training for teachers, not only about

teacher forum or Curriculum 2013 but also about the use of lab equipment because

not all biology teachers are graduates of Faculty of Teacher Training and Education.

179

Appendix E2

Indonesian Transcripts of Interview

Kode Transkrip: Transcript_1

Catatan: P: Penanya; J: Responden

1 P : Jelaskan elemen penting yang menurut Ibu seharusnya ada dalam proses belajar

mengajar yang dapat mengonstruksi pengetahuan siswa

J : Menurut saya yang paling penting itu adalah keterampilan karena dengan

keterampilan itu daya anak untuk menyerap ilmu lebih kuat karena dengan melihat

dan melakukan bukan hanya mendengar saja.

P : Terus kalau dikurikulum biologi elemen itu termasuk proses teaching and learning,

assessment, ada teaching material, konten, kondisi belajar, ada kompetensinya dan

aturan-aturannya. Jadi menurut ibu elemen apa lain yang penting untuk

mengonstruksi pengetahuan siswa?

J : Yang sangat mendukung instruksi dalam mengajar adalah sarana dan juga

kompetensi yang dimiliki oleh pendidik. Harus ada keseimbangan/strategi antara

personal dengan material yang diajarkan dan juga metode yang digunakan. Jadi, ada

unsure man dan sarana/prasarana

P : Berarti strategi guru, bagaimana menggunakan sarana dan kompetensi dia dalam

mengajar.

J : Iya. Selain itu, informasi juga dianggap sangat penting.

2 P : Disekolah Ibu sudah menggunakan kurikulum 2013, kira-kira apa tantangan dan

atau peluangnya?

180

J : Sebenarnya banyak kelemahan, kekuatan, tantangan, dan peluang yang dihadapi di

sekolah. Kekurangan/ kelemahan utama pada sekolah mandiri adalah dukungan

finansial yang harus disubsidi oleh pihak sekolah, namun ini tidak menjadi kendala

karena kekurangan dana dapat ditutupi dengan dana operasional. Kekurangan lainnya

adalah dari segi pelatihan karena tidak semua guru dipanggil untuk mengikuti

pelatihan. Kekurangan dari segi pelatihan ini dapat diminimalisir karena jika ada

delegasi guru yang diundang untuk mnegikuti pelatihan kemudian merE dapat

menjadi penyambung informasi dari tempat pelatihan kepada guru lainnya yang tidak

mengikuti pelatihan. Jadi, tantangan kedepan adalah otomatis guru harus

menghadapi program oleh pemerintah sehingga kami di sekolah harus mengambil

peluang penggunaan kurikulum 2013 tersebut.

P : Terus jika dilihat dari sisi peluangnya bu?

J : Sebenarnya, ada peluang yang bagus dari kurikulum 2013, misalnya dari segi

penilaian yang otentik yang mewakili aspek pengetahuan, aspek sikap, dan aspek

keterampilan. Sistem penilaian yang diberikan pada kurikulum 2013 sangat detil. Jika

ditelaah dari segi pengetahuan berupa adanya penilaian tes tulis, penilaian lisan,

penugasan yang jelas dan ada kriteria-kriteria yang dinilai. Kemudian instrumen dan

rubrik apa yang digunakan, deskripsi, serta bagaimana cara menghitung penilaian

tersebut yang dapat dimasukkan kedalam lembar penilaian sehingga penilaiannya

bersifat obyektif bukan subyektif dan sangat jelas. Begitu juga dengan sikap, banyak

aspek yang dinilai. Penilaian siswa tidak hanya dilakukan oleh guru tetapi juga oleh

siswa itu sendiri atau sesama teman meskipun mugnkin agak bias. Misalnya ketika

ditanyakan kepada siswa apakah sudah shalat kemudian siswa menjawab “Tidak bu”

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dari segi jujur ia sudah jujur, mengakui tidak shalat, nah dari situ bisa dinilai aspek

jujurnya.

P : Guru-guru sendiri merasa kesulitan atau tidak? Meskipun pedoman yang diberikan

sudah jelas ya.

J : Memang beban kerja bertambah, namun seorang guru yang professional akan

menggunakan elemen penilaian sebaik mungkin sehingga ketika proses belajar

mengajar di sekolah akan digunakan waktu yang optimal untuk menilai siswa

sehingga guru tersebut merasa tidak cukup waktu untuk menyelesaikan tugas

tersebut. Otomatis untuk guru yang kurang professional akan merasa terbebani.

Tetapi dengan bantuan IT beban tadi tergampangkan hanya saja apakah si guru bisa

memanfaatkan aplikasi IT tersebut. Otomatis SDM guru harus ditingkatkan dari segi

misalnya penggunaan komputer, dsb yang juga menjadi tantangan baru. Sehingga

dana sertifikasi yang sebagai tunjangan untuk peningkatan kompetensi guru

digunakan untuk meningkatkan kapasitas diri guru, misalnya untuk guru yang belum

mampu menggunakan computer akan menggunakan tunjangan tersebut untuk kursus

computer atau untuk meningkatkan sumber daya dirinya. Sebenarnya bagus sEli

programnya.

3 P : Pertanyaan terakhir adalah apa pertimbangan Ibu E terhadap kurikulum yang ideal

dalam hal materi pokok biologi. Setiap orang memiliki gambaran tentang kurikulum

yang ideal jadi apa yang memnjadi pertimbangan ibu tentang suatu kurikulum biologi

yang ideal?

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J : Kurikulum ideal yang ada dipikiran saya jika kita kaitkan dengan segi ekonomi

adalah adanya integrasi kurikulum dengan kewirausahaan. Artinya anak tidak hanya

dibEli dengan materi tetapi dia juga memiliki jiwa entrepreneur sehingga muncul

implementasi ilmu.

P : Berarti untuk materi biologi itu bagaimana materi biologi yang dipilih tapi

berhubungan juga dengan kewirausahaan seperti itu ya. Setidaknya anak dapat

memanfaatkan materi biologi yang telah didapat untuk menyambung kehidupannya

melalui usaha. Kemudian yang saya impikan adanya kurikulum yang berbasis

keunggulan lokal, bisa jadi setiap sekolah disamping memiliki kurikulum nasional

juga memiliki kurikulum sekunder yang berbasis keunggulan lokal. Misalnya sekolah

dibagian pesisir sebaiknya memiliki kurikulum mengenai kemaritiman atau

sebagainya sehingga anak-anak memiliki bEl dan tidak keurangan informasi.

Kurikulum lokal disesuaikan dengan kondisi lingkungan ditempat sekolah itu berada

dengan menyisipkan kearifan lokal sehingga anak-anak juga bisa menjaga kearifan

lokal daerah setempat.

P : Jadi artinya begini, kalau kurikulum biologi sekunder itu menyangkut kearifanan

lokal dimana siswa belajar maka topic itu diberikan secara lebih mendalam. Misalnya

jika didaerah pesisir maka mengenai biota laut lebih banyak atau ekologi lautnya.

Menarik sekali ide Ibu.

J : Iya, benar. Jadi, sebaiknya kurikulum kearifan lokal ini lebih mendalam ketika

diajarkan. Adanya kurikulum muatan lokal yang berbasis keunggulan lokal.

Kurikulum nasional tetapi juga mengakomodir lokal tempat kurikulum itu berpijak.

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P : Kemudian Bu E, kira-kira ada lagi tidak yang ingin Ibu sampaikan tentang

kurikulum kita khususnya untuk materi Biologi?

J : Untuk materi biologi sebenarnya sudah kompleks bu, hanya sErang

permasalahannya arahnya/sifatnya itu maunya lebih keterapan. Selanjutnya, yang

menjadi harapan saya adalah pemerintah banyak melakukan pelatihan dan adanya uji

kompetensi guru jangan sampai apa yang diajarkan untuk siswa adalah sesuatu yang

salah/keliru. Karena budaya kita malas membaca tidak sama dengan orang asing.

Tetapi dengan adanya pelatihan yang sering dan uji kompetensi guru dapat memacu

semangat guru untuk pengingkatan ilmu biologi khususnya.

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1 P : Di kurikulum itu ada beberapa elemen, dari bahan bacaan Saya dapat elemen-

elemen kurilukum itu seperti penilaian, siswa, kondisi belajar, konten, tujuan

pembelajaran biologi, materi dan topic, proses belajar mengajar. Kalau Kak Jumiati

sendiri maksudnya elemen penting apa yang seharusnya ada dalam proses mengajar

dalam memfasilitasi mengonstruksi pengetahuan siswa? Maksudnya faktor apa yang

men-support pembentukan pengetahuan siswa?

J : Sepertinya proses, jika prosesnya bagus seperti penggunaan media yang tepat.

Kalau prosesnya bagus kalau di kurikulum 2013 juga termasuk penilaian didalamnya.

Terhadap materi A jika penilaiannya tidak sesuai maka tidak tereliminasi dengan

bagus juga.

P : Jadi, jika prosesnya bagus dan penilaian yang bagus mampu mengkonstruksi

pengetahuan siswa. Maksudnya mengonstruksi itu kita membantu siswa membentuk

pengetahuannya.

J : Iya, betul.

2 P : Kira-kira dalam melaksanakan kurikulum 2013 ini apa tantangan dan peluangnya?

J : Tantangan yang dihadapi ialah penilaian yang rumit. Tidak semua guru mampu

melaksanakan penilaian dengan tepat karena itemnya banyak dan ribet.

P : Katanya ada juga sudah direduksi/ dikurangi untuk peniliaan dalam kurlikulum

2013?

J : Setelah adanya kurikulum revisi beberapa item penilaian memang sudah dikurangi

misalnya penilaian antar teman, penilaian diri, KI 1 dan KI 2 indikator untuk semua

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pelajar sudah tidak ada lagi kecuali agama dan PKN dan itu sudah lebih mudah

setelah dikurangi.

P : Terus misalnya seperti peluang, misalnya peluang siswa belajar menggunakan

kurikulum ini dibandingkan dengan kurikulum sebelumnya bagaimana kira-kira?

J : Peluang pada kurikulum 2013 adalah lebih terarah jika dibandingkan dengan

kurikulum sebelumnya.

P : Peluang ini hanya untuk siswa atau untuk kedua-duanya, untuk guru dan siswa?

J : Untuk guru juga. Guru memiliki pedoman dan petunjuk yang jelas sehingga siswa

lebih gampang ketika menerima apa yang diajarkan.

3 P : Ini soal terakhir, Cuma tiga pertanyaan soalnya

J : (tertawa)

P : Menurut Ibu pribadi kurikulum biologi yang ideal itu seperti apa? kemudian apa

yang menjadi pertimbangan dalam kurikulum ideal itu sendiri, terutama dalam materi

pokok karenakan materi kita banyak seperti itu.

J : Ini khusus untuk kurikulum 2013 ya?

P : Gak, maksudnya secara general. Setiap guru kan mungkin punya mimpi sendiri

tentang kurikulum yang ideal itu seperti apa. Apakah yang di desain oleh pemerintah

itu sudah ideal atau bagaimana?

J : Kurikulum yang ideal menurut saya khusus untuk biologi baiknya yang mendesain

kurikulumnya adalah orang-orang biologi dan praktikumnya atau observasi lebih

diperbanyak. Siswa kan kalau belajar biologi harus lebih banyak praktikum. Kalau

diizinkan yang menyusun kurikulum itu guru biologi itu sednirj dan diperbanyak

praktikumnya.

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P : Saya dengar kita di Kementerian belum ada sub bidang biologi penyusunan biologi.

Tapikan mungkin ada orang-orang IPA. Saya juga gak tahu struktur yang jelasnya

hanya yang pernah Saya baca seperti itu. Mungkin sains secara general, mugnkin saja

digabung fisika, kimia, dan sebagainya. Belum ada memang departemen khusus

biologi orang-orang biologi sendiri. Kemudian di kurikulum 2013 disyaratkan

dilaksanakan secara inquiri, menurut Saya laboratorium itu termasuk salah satu yang

inquiri. Mungkin itu sudah ada tapi …. (terputus)

J : Iya, tetapi masih kurang.

P : iya kurang. atau dalam pelaksanaannya belum dilengkapi.

J : Maksudnya gini, misalnya media-media sederhana. Artinya setiap materi yang mau

diperoleh siswa sepertinya lebih baik didapatkan melalui proses inquiri jika untuk

materi sains.

P : Berarti mungkin yang kita butuhkan dukungan sarana dan prasarana. Guru-guru

sudah ada pedoman untuk melaksanakan inquiri namun belum terlalu detail untuk

setiap topik ya. Hanya dijelaskan apa itu inquiri, sebagaimana, dan beberapa contoh.

J : Iya, masih umum juga.

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1 P : Menurut literature yang saya baca dan juga dokumen kurikulum kita ada beberapa

elemen kurikulum seperti siswa, penilaian, kompetensi, kondisi pembelajaran,

konteks. Kalau dikurikulum kita ada beberapa seperti tujuan pembelajaran biologi,

materi/topik dan isi, peneilaian juga. kalau menurut Ibu sebenarnya elemen mana

yang penting dlm proses belajar mengajar yang dapat membentuk/mengonstruksi

pengetahuan biologi siswa?

J : Elemen yang paling penting untuk mengkonstruksi pengetahuan siswa yang pertama

harus ada indikator untuk materi yang diajarkan sehingga dapat membimbing guru

untuk mencapai tujuan pembelajaran. Kedua, sebaiknya pemerintah ketika meminta

guru mencapai tujuan pembelajaran dengan berbagai model yang disarankan

sebaiknya juga disertakan contoh-contoh model yang dibuat sehingga guru tidak

meraba-raba ketika menggunakan model tersebut. Memang revisi kurikulum 2013

sudah membolehkan guru memakai model apa saja, mungkin karena dilapangan

didapat guru yang kebingungngan menggunakan model yang ditentukan sehingga

sekarang boleh menggunakan model apa saja. Sementara sekarang guru banyak

diberikan pengetahuan tentang pembaharuan kurikulum 2013 alangkah baiknya jika

guru juga diberikan contoh pemakaian model-model tersebut sehingga guru bisa

mengimplementasikan model yang dianjurkan. Kemudian juga lebih sering untuk

memberikan perhatian terhadap pendalaman materi oleh guru-guru karena materi

yang harus diajarkan sekarang berbeda jauh dari materi yang guru dapatkan saat

kuliah dahulu sedangkan materi sekarang sangat luar biasa perkembangan ilmu

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pengetahuan. Mirisnya, sekarang guru kurang menguasai perkembangan ilmu

tersebut. Hal ini mungkin karena kurangnya diberikan pelatihan terhadap guru.

P : Intinya pemerintah seharusnya dalam pengembangan profesionalisme guru itu

mencakup banyak hal termasuk materi, contoh penerapan model pembelajaran. Iya

memang kadang-kadang penulis menganggap semua guru paham, tahu cara

penggunaan model yang ia tuliskan tanpa melihat kondisi ril di lapangan.

J : Iya, benar.

2 P : Kemudian Ibu sudah menggunakan kurikulum 2013 kan, kira-kira tantangannya

apa dalam menggunakan kurikulum 2013 atau apa masalah-masalahnya?

J : Sebenarnya kurikulum 2013 memberi kemudahan kepada guru didalam proses

pembelajaran yang mana guru tidak lagi menjadi sentral pembelajaran. Tetapi

didalam pelaksanaannya menurut saya pribadi didalam pengelolaan kelas itu anak

dalam keadaan diskusi terus menerus karena memang dituntut anak untuk bisa

bekerjasama dsb jaid banyak sekali proses pembelajaran dilakukan secara diskusi dan

disitu guru harus cerdas untuk menggunakan berbagai tehnik agar anak tidak bosan.

Semua pelajaran anak dituntut untuk berdiskusi, mengonstruksi sendiri

pengetahuannya oleh sebab itu, kelemahannya menurut pengalaman Saya pribadi

Saya harus memiliki banyak trik/ model belajar sehingga ketika melakukan diskusi

tidak membosankan siswa. Jadi tidak model itu-itu saja yang dipakai.

P : Iya, betul.

J : Jadi tantangan bagi Saya adalah saya harus lebih banyak mencari model-model

pembelajaran yang akan dilaksanakan didalam kelas.

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P : Menurut Ibu kira-kira peluang dalam proses belajar mengajar biologi itu seperti

apa? Misalnya peluang siswa untuk memahami biologi itu seperti apa dengan

kurilukum 2013 ini apakah lebih bagus dari kurikulum sebelumnya?

J : Sebenarnya peluang yang ditawarkan kurikulum 2013 untuk anak lebih bagus

karena anak yang aktif untuk memperoleh pengetahuan sendiri. Tetapi itu kami guru

harusnya lebih banyak dilatih untuk memperoleh cara-cara pembelajaran.

P : Seperti bagaimana membuat pembelajaran itu lebih aktif ya? Student centre tetapi

guru tetap diberikan bekal.

J : Iya, Jadi proses pembelajarannya tetap student center tetapi guru tetap diberi

pengatahuan unutuk memperoleh cara-cara atau model-model pembelajaran baru

dalam melaksanakan materi didalam suatu pemebalajarn sehingga dapat membuat

suasana belajar lebih aktif. Sebenarnya kurikulum 2013 ini mendukung pelajar

biologi karena kita menggunakan laboratorium yang membutuhkan model inkuiri

yang mana anak dapat mengonstruksi sendiri pengetahuannya di lab. Tetapi

sayangnya lab disekolah tidak semua alat bahan tersedia, misalnya jika ingin

melakukan percobaan ternyata alat atau bahannya tidak ada sehingga hal ini menjadi

kendala bagi guru.

P : Iya, sebenarnya ini pernah menjadi pertanyan oleh professor Saya, bagaimana kalau

di Indonesia itu kondisi laboratoriumnya itu seperti apa? dukungan sekolah/

pemerintahnya? Saya jawab dulu waktu saya SMA Saya masuk laboratorium itu

cuma seklai/ dua kali. Sedangkan pada kurikulum 2013 ini diterapka inquiri,

mungkin salah satu yang paling mudah itu adalah punya fasilitas lab yang bagus dan

mereka sangat tertarik. Saya juga belum ytau kondisi yang sebenarnya seperti apa

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tapi ada juga guru yang bilang bahaw disekolah mereka ada lab tapi tidak bisa masuk

karena lab nya selalu dikunci kepsek.

J : Mungkin juga karena tidak ada laboran. Atau mungkin labnya ada tapi bahannya

tidak ada. Sehingga ketika ingin melakukan suatu pembelajaran tidak ada bahannya.

Padahal pembelajaran biologi itu paling cocok untuk k13 diterapkan, kita

menggurung anak untuk mendapat pengetahuan sendiri.

3 P : Kemudian menurut Ibu kira-kita apa yang menjadi pertimbangan Ibu tentang

kurikulum biologi yang ideal dalam materi pokok pembelajaran biologi itu?

J : Untuk materi pokok yang sudah diberikan oleh pemerintah atau bagaimana bu?

P : Yang sekarang sudah ada dalam kurikulum itu.

J : materi pokok materi-materi yang diterapkan didalam silabus saya rasa cocok, sudah

pas bagi anak-anak untuk mendapatkan uraian yang konkrit sampai yang abstrak.

Bagi Saya ini sudah cocok dan oke hanya saja pelaksanaannya sedikit terbatas karena

terkait ketersediaan alat maupun bahan di laboratoirum yang minim.

P : Berarti menurut Ibu kurikulum biologi itu sudah ideal lah ya. Kalau di Amerika

guru itu bisa memilih materi apa saja yang ingin diajarkan atau tidak, mungkin

karena beberapa factor tapi saya kurang tahu smeua juga mungkin ada karena tidak

menguasai materi tersebut, ada yang memang menurut merek tidak penting untuk apa

diajarkan. Jadi ada gak kondisi seperti ini menurut Ibu?

J : Mungkin kalau materi dikelas X seperti organisasi kehidupan.

P : Makanya saya tidak tahu, dengan asusmsi itu akan diajarkan untuk semua siswa?

Namanyakan pendahuluan, siswa pasti akan memahami.

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J : Organisasi kehidupan, itukan sebenarnya dari kelas VII smp sudah diajarkan tapi

mungkin karena siswa kita terlalu banyak pelajaran jadi ketika ditanyakan lagi

mengenai materi tersebut mereka sudah lupa/ tidak terekam lagi diingatan mereka.

Saya pikir organisasi kehidupan itu sebenarnya tidak perlu diajarkan.

P : Iya, betul betul.

J : Sebaliknya materi Klasifikasi sangat sedikit diulas didalam silabusnya, malahan

klasifikasi itu ikut nebang di Organisasi. Padahal, menurut saya, klasifikasi itu

harusnya dibahas sendiri karena materi tersebut penting. Materi kalsifikasi sangat

kurang sekali dibahas di K13.

P : Iya, memang pernah Saya buat penelitian kenapa di ujian nasoinal itu siswa banyak

berniali rendah dimateri klasifikasi ternyata guru-guru bilang terlalu banyak hafalan

dan terlalu banyak yang harus siswa ingat.

J : Iya, sebenarnya materi Organisasi itu ga penting-penitng sekali. Tetapi terkadang

mungkin guru-guru lulusan FKIP kurang mendapatkan/ mendalami ilmu tentang

klasifikasi sehingga guru-guru ketika mengajar tidak diajarkan secara mendalam

kepada siswa.

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1 P : Sebelumnya kan Ibu sudah pernah mengisi angket Saya. Ini ada tiga pertanyaan lagi

untuk wawancaranya.

J : Iya

P : Yang pertama, Ibu tahu gak elemen-elemen dalam kurikulum?

J : Silabus ya?

P : Elemen kurikulum itu kalau menurut literature misalnya pembelajar, peneilaian,

kondisi pembelajaran. Nah kalau dikurikulum itu ada tujuan pembelajaran biologi,

teaching material dan konteks, kondisi kelas, dan lain-lain. Jadi pertanyaan Saya kira-

kira menurut Leni elemen apa yang seharusnya ada didalam praktik belajar mengajar

dalam mengonstruksi pengetahuan siswa?

J : Sarana dan prasarana.

P : Kira-kira kenapa sarana dan prasarana?

J : Jika di desa sarana dan prasarana sangat minim, contohnya laboratorium, tidak

semua sekolah disini memiliki lab biologi sementara lab menjadi sangat penting

untuk menunjang materi.

P : KIra-kira seberapa besar laboratorium di tempat ibu dapat mendukung proses

belajar mengajar biologi?

J : Jika lab ada dan bahannya juga lengkap kemungkinan besar sekitar 80% dapat

mendukung proses belajar mengajar. Rata-rata sekolah disini memiliki lab tetapi

masih digabung yaitu laboratorium IPA dan juga bahan yang tersedia masih sangat

terbatas.

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P : terus pernah tidak Ibu melakukan kegiatan seperti belajar di luar ruangan yang bisa

kita desain sendiri tanpa menggunakan lab?

J : Untuk belajar outdoor memang pernah dilakukan, tapi kan tidak semua materi bisa

dikondisikan di luar ruangan. Ada beberapa materi yang bisa dikondisikan tanpa

bantuan alat laboratorium yang ada disekolah tetapi bebarapa lalinnyakan tidak.

2 P : Pertanyaan yang kedua, Saat ini Ibu menggunakan kurikulum 2013 atau 2006 di

sekolah?

J : Gabung, Sekolah tempat saya mengajar menggunakan k13 mandiri, ada sekolah

yang k13 memang sudah ditetapkan oleh pemerintah.

P : Yang sudah menjadi sekolah sasaran gitu ya?

J : Iya. Jadi dikabupaten Bener Meriah ada tiga sekolah yang k13 menjadi sasarnnya,

sebagian lagi itu sekolah mandiri. Artinya kelas X menggunakan kurikulum 2013

sedangkan untuk kelas XI dan XII masih menggunakan KTSP.

P : O seperti itu ya, tapi tidak apa-apa juga karena penelitian ini tentang topic

biologinya yang ingin diketahui. Memang professor Saya suru pilih satu kurikulum

saja dan yang terbaru dengan anggapan semua sekolah mengimplementasikan atau

kearah mengimplementasikan seperti itu. Nah kira-kira apa tantangan yang eprnah

Leni temui dalam pelaksanaan kurikulum 2013 itu dan 2006?

J : Tantangan saya dapati adalah masih mengambang/ kurang paham mengenai

kurikulum itu sendiri karena pelatihan yang diberikan masih kurang dan pelatihan

yang diberikan kepada guru tidak cukup menunjang K13. Jadi pada saat pemanggilan

pelatihan ditingkat provinsi ditentukan oleh tim di provinsi sedangkan ditingkat

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kabupaten ditentukan oleh tim kabupaten guru mana yang dikirm untuk pelatihan dan

biasanya guru yang itu-itu saja jadi tidak merata kesemua guru.

P : Ooo tidak merata. kecuali mungkin dinas yang panggil secara acak mungkin lebih

merata ya. terus kalau tantangan dikelas apa yang sulit dari kurikulum 2013 ketika

diajarkan?

J : Sulit sih tidak malah lebih gampang sebenarnya dengan K13 Cuma pemahamannya

saja yang kurang. Memang dievaluasi yang agak sedikit ribet.

P : Tapi katanya sekarang penilaian kategori sikap sudah dikurangi ya? sudah direvisi

gitu.

J : Memang kurikulum 2013 sudah direvisi smentara disekolah kami belum ada

pelatihan mengenai revisi tersebut.

P : Jadi sampai saat ini masih terpaku system evaluasi yang awal.

J : Iya.

P : Kira-kira menurut Leni peluang untuk sekolah itu bisa tidak menjadi lebih baik

dengan menggunakan kurikulum 2013?

J : Jika diterapkan sebenarmya kurikulum 2013 lebih baik jika dibandingkan dengan

KTSP. Jika dilihat dari segi materi memang tidak banyak perubahan antara KTSP

dengan K13 hanya sistimnya saja yang lebih sistematis. Jadi kalau diterapkan lebih

bagus sebenarnya tetapi harus ada pemahaman dari gurunya terlebih dahulu.

P: Dalam hal ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa ada kurangnya pengembangan professional

guru.

J : Iya, untuk guru sangat dibutuhkan pelatihan-pelatihan lah.

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3 P : Kemudian secara pribadi saja ini karena sya pun tidak mencatumkan identitas. Kira-

kira menurut Leni pribadi apa yang menjadi pertimbangan tentang kurikulum biologi

yang ideal dalam hal materi pokok. Apakah kurikulum kita ini sudah ideal dengan

semua materi pokok yang harus diajarkan atau bagaimana? harus ada yang dikurangi

atau bagaimana?

J : Menurut Saya kurikulum 2013 sudah bagus tetapi lebih baik lagi jika lebih

dikembangkan karena ada materi-materi yang hanya sepintas lalu diajarkan dan

sementara menurut saya materi itu penting. Tapi kalau setingkat SMA diajarkan ada

yang complain juga.

P : Betul, karena kurikulumnya sama ya antara SMA, MA, SMK. Terus kalau misalnya

kurikulum materi itu penting semua. Yan anti saya akan membandingkan kurikulum

Amerika dengan kurikulum Indonesia maksudnya secara sekilas Amerika itu

mengkover secara lebih detail tetapi tidak lebih banyak sedangkan menurut Leni

apakah siswa kita sanggup menerima semua materi biologi?

J : Itulah yang Leni bilang tadi Kak. JIka tingkat SMA seberapa sih materi yang

seharusnya diterima oleh siswa, terus materi yang penting apa-apa saja itu harus

menjadi perhatian.

P : Jadi menurut Leni sudah ideal lah ya kurikulum 2013 kita? istilahnya sudah cukup

bekal siswa mengetahui pengetahuan biologi?

J : Iya, menurut saya untuk saat ini materi yang ada disilabus sudah cukup menjadi

bekal bagi siswa.

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1 P : Sebelumnya ibu Y sudah pernah mengisi kuesioner yang Saya berikan ya, disitu kan

ada pertanyaan mengenai topic biologi yang penting dan mana yang tidak penting.

Disitu ada dilihat penilaian, strategi belajar mengajar, dan juga topic biologi. Nah

menurut Ibu Y elemen penting apa yang harus ada dalam praktik mengajar untuk

memefasilitasi pembentukan pengetahuan siswa. Apakah penilaian, materi, sumber

bacaan/ bahan gitu?

J : Elemen yang paling penting adalah sumber bacaan, metode pembelajaran, alat-alat

pendukung pembelajaran. Untuk sumber bacaan, mislanya guru menjelaskan ke

anak-aank tetapi mereka tidak memiliki buku bacaan jadinya mereka bergantung

kepada guru, guru menjadi sumber utama. Tetapi jika siswa juga memiliki buku

bacaan selain mereka dapat ilmu dari guru mereka juga dapat ilmu dari buku.

Kemudian alat pembelajaran misalnya torso itu penting bagi saya.

P : Oo seperti media pendukung gitu ya?

J : ya, sebagai media pendukung dan itu penting. Sekolah tempat saya mengajar berada

diperbatasan antara kota lhokseumawe dengan aceh utara, jadi anak-anak sebagian

besar berasal dari daerah perbatasan aceh utara. Dari segi ekonomi memang siswa-

siwa tersebut terbatas jadi disekolah jika kita mengharapkan pengadaan buku dari

mereka pribadi memang tidak mampu jadi semuanya bergantung pada sekolah.

Disekolah memang ada disediakan buku misalnya 25 buku tetapi untuk digunakan

satu meja satu buku. Jadi, anak-anak tidak menggunakan buku tersebut untuk dibaca

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dirumah sehingga mereka tidak mempersiapkan diri ketika sebelum masuk kelas dan

baru dibaca saat masuk dengan guru dikelas.

P : Itu karena tidak bisa dibagi satu buku untuk setiap siswa ya jadinya kongsi dua?

J : Iya, dan bukunya tidak bisa dibawa pulang kerumah. Jadi itu elemen yang paling

penting, materi dari guru, sumber, dan alat pendukung.

2 P : Trus selama ini ibu Y sudah menggunakan kurikulum 2006 KTSP atau kurikulum

2013?

J : Kami sudah tiga tahun mneggunakan kurikulum 2013.

P : Jadi menurut Y apa tantangan dalam mengimplementasikan kurikulum 2013 ini?

J : Tantangannya karena siswanya mengalami keterbatasan ekonomi jadi guru agak

susah untuk mengimplementasikan kurikulum 2013 ini. Kurikulum 2013 mendorong

agar siswa mendapatkan sendiri ilmu sedangkan kenyataan dengan permasalahan

yang ada guru menjadi sumber ilmu karena sumber bacaan tidak ada. Misalnya

diberikan tugas kelompok yang mana sumbernya dicari dari internet tetapi siswa-

siswa ini tidak bisa karena didaerah mereka tidak ada warnet atau wifi, hanya ada

satu dua siswa yang memiliki fasilitas internet.

p : Di warung kopi juga tidak ada fasilitas internet ya?

J : Tidak ada. Cuma satu dua siswa yang ada laptop punya kakaknya dan punya wifi,

ya Cuma seperti itu. Jadi sangat susah bagi guru untuk memajukan pemikiran siswa.

P : Iya padahal kalau buku biologi di kurikulum 2013 bisa di download tapi mungkin

bellum ada biaya untuk ngeprint.

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J : Ya gitulah, ga ada warnet. Adanya di kota, kalau ke kota jauh. Tantangan

selanjutnya adalah penilaian, yaitu rapor siswa yang sangat sering berubah-ubah

aplikasi format setiap semester sehingga guru dan wali kelasnya bingung.

P : itu rapornya di kertas atau dibuku kayak kita dulu?

J : Nilai siswa di-input ke aplikasi sehingga nanti muncul nilai akhir untuk rapornya

dan kemduian di-print. Tapi ya itu format-formatnya berubah-ubah terus.

P : Oo ini jadi tantanganlah, maksudnya banyak juga kerjaan buat guru. Kalau dari sisi

positifnya apa dari kurikulum 2013 ini?

J : Kalau sisi positifnya sebenarnya banyak tetapi karena mengaplikasian disekolah

kami terbatas jadi tidak sempurna.

P : Jadi lebih banyak tantangannya gitu ya, walaupun itu positif gitu ya.

J : Iya, sebenarnya positif kurikulum ini, membentuk karakter siswa kita harapkan dan

akhlaknya bisa diperbaiki.

P : Jadi integrasi karakter yang sudah Y terapkan disekolah itu seperti apa?

J : Integrasi karakter siswa yang pernah diimplementasikan dikelas seperti pada saaat

awal masuk kelas berdoa untuk membentuk karakter religious, mengumpulkan tugas

tepat waktu untuk membentuk karakter disiplin, pada saat berdiskusi siswa harus

mendengarkan dan menghormati pendapat teman.

P : Kalau pada saat mengajar topic tertentu gitu apa pernah dimasukkan integrasi

karakter?

J : Iya ada, semua dimasukkan.

P : Berarti karakter di K13 lebih kepembentukan kepribadian menyeluruh ya? bukan

hanya misalnya ilmu biologi dikaitkan dengan ilmu ini, gak kan?

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J : Gak, memang menyeluruh. Misalnya siswa cepat masuk pelajaran kita atau kumpul

tugas, sudah menanamkan karakter juga disitu.

3 P : Betul, betul. Pertanyaan ketiga menurut Ibu Y sebagai guru bagaimana sih

kurikulum biologi yang ideal itu? Mungkin yang dalam pikiran Ibu Y atau inginnya

seperti apa kurikulum biologi yang ideal?

J : Kurikulum 2013 memang sudah bagus, materi sudah lebih sempit, silabus sudah

ditentukan oleh pemerintah guru tinggal mengembangkan, misal materinya bisa guru

kembangkan, alat pembelajaran dapat didukung dengan metode pembelajarannya,

dari segi penilaian juga sudah bagus ada penliaian sikap, pengetahuan, dan

keterampilan. Secara umum sudah bagus semuanya. Alhamdulillah pada kurikulum

2013 revisi penilaian sikap sudah dikurangi, jadi kalau dulu harus menilai satu-satu

persiswa itu membuang banyak waktu guru.

P : Iya, betul

J : Tetapi sekarang penialian sikap lebih intensif kepada siwa yang bermasalah saja.

Anak bermasalah saja yang kita nilai.

P : Terus kalau untuk materi biologi yang sekarang sudah ada kira-kira tergolong

banyak gak? atau harus dikurangi atau sudah pas?

J : Materi sebenarnya sangat banyak, seperti pada kelas XI itu materi system banyak

sekali disemester dua sehingga ada kala tidak terkejar materi diakhir semester

sehingga anak-anak kadang saya beri latihan saja jadi sangat luas ilmunya, bab-

babnya sangat banyak.

P : Jadi seperti saat kita kuliah ya?

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J : Iya, seperti materi kuliah saja. Kalau materi kelas XII banyak juga tapi masih

sanggup diajarkan oleh gurunya tapi kalau materi kelas XI terlalu luas seperti system

pencernaan itu banyak sekali materi jadi apalagi untuk anak yang tidak memiliki

buku seperti siswa kami ini jadi kita harus mengajari tahap demi tahap sedikit demi

sedikit sampai mereka mengerti karena mereka tidak punya buku bacaan dirumah dan

sangat tergantung pada guru.

P : Jadi sebenarnya itu juga sedikit menghambat ya. Jadi tidak menghemat waktu.

J : Iya, Sehingga tidak menghemat waktu.

P : Setelah membaca angket Saya ada saran gak?

J : Semoga penelitian Ibu berhasil

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1 P : Pertanyaan yang pertama, kira-kira elemen penting apa yang dapat membantu

mengonstruksi pengetahuan siswa?

J : tentunya alat bantu dan alat peraga. Sebelumnya. Di Aceh Tenggara ada

ketidakjelasan mengenai penggunaan kurikulum, apakah menggunakan kurikulum

KTSP atau kurikulum 2013. Karena sekolah kecil maka kami menggunakan

kurikulum KTSP tetapi metode pengajaran yang digunakan mengacu pada kurikulum

2013. Khusus pada pelajaran biologi, ilmu pengetahuan yang harus ditampilkan

gambar atau alat peraga. Untuk alat peraga alhamdulillah sekolah telah memiliki

beberapa bantuan dari dinas. Kemudian masalah lainnya adalah laboratorium yang

tidak memenuhi standar. Khususnya pada mikroskop karena alat labarotarium yang

ada adalah barang bantuan yang diberikan oleh dinas tetapi ketika kita terima dan

dicoba ternyata mikroskopnya banyak tidak bagus. Tentu kurikulum, alat bantu, dan

alat peraga itu yang penting.

2 P : Kemudian Pak, Bapak kan masih menggunakan kurikulum 2006 tetapi metode

pengajarannya mengacu kepada K13. Jadi, menurut Bapak apa tantangan dan peluang

yang Bapak hadapi ketika menggunakan kedua kurikulum ini?

J : Tantangan belajar mengajar menggunakan kurikulum 2013 kalau untuk materi

biologi jika kita pacu sepertinya tidak tercapai secara maksimal. Dikarenakan dalam

kurikulum 2013 ini mengacu pada belajar kelompok, objektif siwa lebih diberatkan

kepada dia belajar mandiri seperti siswa yang membahas, mengerjakan soal,

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mengerjakan makalah, juga merangkum siswa tetapi terkadang waktunya yang

kurang untuk mencapai itu semua.

P : Kemudian kalau dari sisi positifnya/ peluangnya dari kurikulum 2013. Kira-kira

bagaimana prospek kedepan dari penggunaan kurikulum 2013 ini?

J : Peluang Memang caranya lebih responsive K13 karena banyak memakai alat peraga

yang membantu siswa mengingat lebih mudah dan metode-metode pengajarannya

tidak seperti CBSA yang mana guru harus menulis materi di papan tulis yang mana

metode ini kurang cepat untuk ditangkap oleh siswa lain halnya dengan metode

kurikulum 2013 yang cepat ditangkap oleh siswa. Contohnya seperti ini, guru

menggambar contoh sel hewan dan sel tumbuhan beserta organela selnya. Guru tidak

memberikan label nama untuk setiap nama organela sel tetapi siswa dapat

mengetahui bahwa gambar tersebut adalah gambar sel. Jadi, siswa lebih cepat

merespon materi yang disampaikan jika guru menggunakan kurikulum 2013. Hanya

saja masalahnya adalah waktu yang harus benar-benar dipacu untuk dapat

menyelesaikan materi.

P : Jadi Bapak sedikit setuju ya jika ada beberapa topic yang penting diajarkan lebih

dalam atau yang kurang penting tidak usah diajarkan dulu di SMA itu, bagaimana

Pak?

J : Mengenai seharusnya ada materi yang tidak perlu disampaikan di bangku SMA

menurut Saya memang dalam mengajar dimulai dengan K1 yaitu mengenalkan

kepada siswa bahwa ini cipataan Tuhan YME Allah swt. Begini contohnya, teori

perbanyakan tanaman, dahulu belum ada manusia yang melakukan perbanyakan

tanaman tentu guru menjelaskan adanya bantuan para hewan seperti burung-burung.

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Tetapi sekarang karena sudah lebih modern, manusia yang melakukan perbanyakan

tanaman. Guru mengajak bercerita-cerita seremonial sehingga bagaimana cara agar

guru dalam menerapkan pembelajaran agar digemaari oleh siswa itulah dengan

metode-metode pencerahan. Tidak langsung guru membuka buku dan menyampaikan

materi-materi. Jadi guru membuat siswa menyukai pelajaran biologi. Guru tahulah

memang siswa itu harus menyukai semua mata pelajaran tidak hanya biologi saja.

Guru juga dapat melakukan pre-test dan post-test untuk mengetahui keberhasilan

proses belajar mengajar. Mungkin siswa dapat mengingat dalam jangka waktu

pendek setelah itu mungkin materinya sudah lupa.

3 P : Kemudian soal ketiga, mungkin Bapak sebagai guru biologi punyalah impian

tentang kurikulum biologi yang ideal. Jadi, apa yang menjadi pertimbangan Bapak

untuk suatu kurikulum biologi yang ideal tentang materi pokok biologi itu sendiri?

J : Pertimbangan kurikulum yang ideal untuk mata pelajaran biologi kalau bisa

disederhanakan, kompetensi dasar pertama dunia hewan dan tumbuhan kalau bisa

disederhanakan. Tidak terlampau bias sekali. Kita ajarkan ketingkat tumbuhan atau

hewan yang masih sederhana dulu. Kadang-kadang jika kita lihat dalam silabus

memang betul, sampai nanti ke (...menit 7:50.) kelas XII. Kalau urutan memang

sudah sesuai tetapi impian kita kalau bisa lebih disederhanakan luasnya materi.

P : Berarti cakupan atau luasnya materi yang diajarkan lebih disederhanakan? Karena

nanti dikuliahan juga diajarkan lagi ya kalau

J : Iya disederhanakanlah, didalam islam juga disedehanakan misalnya alquran dan

hadis. Jadi, disederhanakan saja.

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P : Itu saja Pak pertanyaan dari saya, kira-kira mungkin Bapak ada masukan untuk

Saya?

J : Masukan kepada FKIP/ pihak terkait/ pemerintahan Aceh adalah semoga

kedepannya diperbanyak pembinaan skill kepada guru bukan hanya mengenai

MGMP atau K13 tetapi juga keterampilan guru untuk menggunakan alat

laboratorium karena tidak semua guru biologi adalah lulusan FKIP.

Secondary Biology Instruction in The General Senior ...

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